


A monster lives here

by Since02



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Burn, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:21:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29740734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Since02/pseuds/Since02
Summary: Grace Alo is exiled to Forks, Washington after being kicked out of high school right before senior year. The recent passing of her father mixed with moving into a shared bedroom with her cousin was enough to shake up any teenager's life. But upon her return, a inevitable meeting forces her to confront who she's destined to become to protect the home and people she loves.
Relationships: Jacob Black/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	1. Move

**July**

The summer before her senior year was when Principal Beeter officially signed off on Grace Alo's expulsion from Westmoore Highschool.

Probably for the best if she's being honest.

"Maybe I'll just get my GED and bounce off to the west coast and find something cool...there," Grace told her friend Margot between demolishing her second cherry slurpie.

"Right, because that totally works out for everyone," she mumbled back. "I mean, you didn't even do anything really. So what, one tiny trailer–"

"Can we not?" Grace interjected.

"Yeah, sorry." Margot cleared her throat and her eyes rolled up toward the sky.

"Mom's gonna kill me." Grace's eyes ran over the length of the highway. From below, she could just see the cars skirting the top of the overpass. She wished she was in one of those cars headed far from here.

Grace took one big deep breath and shook the nervous pain from her hands before grasping the handle and pushing open the front door.

Her mom was in the front hall, phone to her ear and back turned. This ought to be good. She could only make out the last bit of what she was saying:

"No, yeah, I really appreciate it. Thanks again, Charlie." Grace's mother hung up and held a hand to her eyes.

"Everything okay?"

She jumped and spun around to face her daughter, one hand still resting up on her forehead. At first, Grace thought she wasn't actually mad at her, but her body posture quickly tensed up, hackles raised, hands coming to rest firmly on her hips. Here it came.

"Grace, I have..no words," her anger was palpable. Grace had always been a little sensitive to those things, but this was new-her anger was rolling off of her in waves and making its way down the hall to crash over Grace.

"Mom, honestly, truly, I am so so sorry. I never thought-"

"No. You didn't. You never think." Harsh. Was she shaking or was that just a trick of the light?

"Mom, please. What can I do?" Grace was trembling now and a ringing sound was growing in her head. She could feel her fight or flight kicking in but had nowhere to run to. This was home.

She'd been in trouble before, but never like this. Sure, she'd never been kicked out of school before, but she was familiar with not having a plan. Not like this.

"Who was that on the phone?" she asked suddenly. Grace hadn't moved from her position from the door. The light backlit her mother's frame, the gold light washed over her, illuminating her auburn hair and pale skin. Her green eyes flashed up at me every so often with a look of determination and fatigue fazing through them. Her eyes were the only thing Grace inherited from her mother that she could place. her warm complexion, broad face, and silky black hair was reminiscent of her father. Every time her mom looked at her, she could see it and Grace would feel pain sweep through her all over again, even if it had lessened over time.

"That was your Uncle Charlie. You're moving to Forks." Her eyes were stern, but her lip quivered and she looked at Grace like it was the last time. They both knew it wasn't but her mom felt things harder than any person she'd known other than her dad. But, Grace could tell by the look on her face that she meant it.

"Wait, what?"

Charlie slammed the trunk shut as Grace settled into the front seat of his police cruiser. Sea-Tac was a bustling airport, but where she was headed was nowhere near this level of hopping. Even Oklahoma City blew Forks, Washington out of the water when it came to city centers.

Charlie settled into the driver seat and gave her a quick grin, which she tried to reciprocate quickly but it may have turned into a grimace. Grace turned her attention out the window as Charlie accelerated onto the road connecting to the highway.

"Bells is excited to see you." Charlie suddenly quipped. "And I got your registration at Forks High all squared away."

"Great, thanks." Grace kept her eyes on the deepening green protruding from the sidewalks, around bends, and over railings. They drove in uninterrupted silence for which she was thankful. Charlie was good that way-not too overbearing,didn't really hover, or force conversation. It was nice and she enjoyed the peace.

"Billy was asking about you." And just like that, the silence was gone. Grace cringed. "Billy Black. You remember him right?" A lump caught in her throat as she tried to keep her breathing even. Charlie waited a minute before continuing. "You know, he stopped by the house the day after I talked to your mom. Brought his son Jake with him, too. He's real excited that you're back in town."

Grace could feel him glance her way, mostly by the sound that his police blazer made as he looked over his extended right arm, but she didn't meet his gaze.

Billy Black.

She hadn't been back to the Quileute reservation in La Push in years. Even before dad died, Grace hadn't seen the familiar beach or sat in the quiet, dated homes, or sat around the communal fire at council meetings for awhile. But after her dad died, it became harder to go back. And once they moved to Oklahoma for his new job, her old life seemed to fade away. The reservation was always the same in her mind, like an old friend, waiting for her inevitable return. But it made her sad more than anything at this point. The comfort she once found there evaporated with her father's spirit. Going back now felt too hard.

Billy had called the house a bunch after we moved away. He was her dad's best friend. And then after her dad died, the cracks in his voice were too much to handle. So, she stopped picking up or taking the phone from her mom when he called and just let things dissipate-distance again, quiet.

The rain slicked roads sounded like a hushed whisper as we whizzed over the bridge and broke into the town of Forks. The small town was familiar too, but not home.

Charlie hadn't said much else on the drive in and once they pulled into the driveway of the Swan house, she breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the passenger door open, gulping in damp, warm air. The air was so much different here. It didn't feel like freedom, but possibility hung in the air more than in the dust of Oklahoma.

Grace hitched her backpack over her shoulder and trudged up the front steps—Charlie was close behind lugging her two heavy suitcases. She tried to reach for one but he shrugged her off with a chuckle and ushered her into the house.

When the door creaked open, Bella peeked her head around the corner in the kitchen, a warm smile breaking across her face.

"Grace!" she beamed and walked briskly across the small landing, lightly tripping over the threshold from the kitchen with a soft 'oh'. She wrapped her in a hug and Grace breathed a sigh of relief. This felt a little more like home. She smelled like soft lavender and some kind of sweet spice.

Bella and Grace grew close when she would visit the reservation and Charlie's during her two-week summers with him. When they weren't together, they wrote letters sporadically which evolved into weekly phone calls. Bella and Grace's mothers were still pretty close—they even road tripped through Oklahoma a few years ago and took them to the Phillbrooke Museum of Art. Grace hasn't laughed that much since then.

Grace had heard through her mom that Bella was moving to Forks so Renee could take off with Phil but Grace hadn't heard much aside from the occasional email here and there. Bella told her that she had met a guy and that things were "intense" but good. Grace had raised her eyebrows at that and vaguely remembered sending back something short in response. She did that a lot lately.

When they pulled back from the hug, Bella held onto the bottoms of Grace's elbows and smiled. Grace's thick plait had loosened on the flight and she felt scrubby.

"Come on, come upstairs." She clasped her hand in hers. Grace couldn't help but give a small smile as Bella tugged her up the narrow staircase and across the short hallway to her bedroom. Well, their shared bedroom now.

The size of the room wasn't bad. She had pushed her full bed up closer to the far window to make space and pushed her low dresser across from the foot of her bed. The small desk was shoved on the short wall directly to the right and Grace's bed sat under the large bay window that looked over the side yard and into the woods.

Her bed was covered in a soft, plush light green duvet with two fluffy pillows. her eyes rested on the black and white patterned blanket at the foot of the bed and her mouth drew into a hard line. Grace couldn't speak for a moment. "Is that…?"

"Yeah, Billy had Jake drop it off the last time he was here. A welcome home present, I guess. Hey, are you okay?" Bella pulled her hands from her back pockets and rested one on Grace's arm which prompted her to pull her face up and give a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, of course! This is great Bells, thanks." Charlie had been leaning against the doorframe, chaperoning her suitcases as Bella gave the tour.

She pulled open a little side closet that rested next to her bed. It held a small white chest of drawers that had little purple flowers painted on it.

"You can put your clothes in there." Bella gestured. Grace shot a look at Charlie.

"You painted those purple flowers yourself Charlie?" she teased. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Guilty." Bella and Grace laughed. She sat on the edge of her bed, fingers curling around the loose threads at the end of the blanket. Warmth rushed over her as she traced her fingers along the familiar pattern from her childhood.

_ This can work.  _ She thought.

The next few days, Grace spent her time settling in, drawing, reading, and unpacking. Bella and Grace actually settled well into a routine together, sharing bathroom space, one showering while the other brushed their teeth, maximizing the bathroom space efficiently. Bella was a quiet sleeper, but Grace couldn't find it in her to sleep just yet, so she would stare up and above her head out the window trying to catch a side of the moon just waning out of sight.

Her third afternoon in Forks, Bella called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Come meet Edward!" she yelled. Grace skipped out of bed and shuffled down the steps, running a hand through her dark hair to try and tame it away from her face.

Bella had told her about Edward on her first night there. They'd stayed up too late, cross-legged on Bella's bed as she picked at pilling on her pajama pants and spoke in a hurried but elated voice about  _ the Edward. _

She had been right though, it sounded intense. While she winded her way through the last eight months, Grace couldn't help but feel bad that she hadn't been more engaged in her emails with her. Grace must have sounded pretty switched off to Bella. Faraway. She had picked up on none of this information about Edward in their email exchanges.

"He's really great. Unlike anyone I've ever met, honestly." she laughed a little at this and Grace tilted her head curiously.

"Oh yeah?" her eyes flitted onto her bed and back up toward Grace a couple times. She opened and closed her mouth as if to say something and landed on an exasperated sigh before smiling.

"Yeah, you're just going to have to meet him for yourself."

_ Color me interested, Bells. _ Grace thought.

When she landed on the bottom step, Grace looked to Bella who was standing next to a tall, pale, but generally handsome guy. Her brain hesitated over the word 'guy'. He seemed— _ felt— _ otherworldly somehow.

"Hey." she gave a tight lipped, but friendly smile. "I'm Grace, I've heard so much about you."

His eyes seemed incredibly kind and their golden hue was captivating but she still found herself tilting her head, as if she was trying to see around his eyes, golden orbs that wouldn't quite turn and reveal a hidden side. His eyes stayed focused on intently on Grace, undisturbed.

He dipped his head in response to her head tilt and smiled warmly (a hint of menace?) and held out a leather gloved hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Edward as Bella said. She's been very excited to have you here, so I've been really excited to meet you." Grace extended her hand to meet his.

As his hand closed around hers—light, but firm—Grace heard a low rumble, like thunder, building behind her left ear. The sound grew rapidly and felt like a building rush from a broken river coming up behind her to sweep her away. She was frozen in place thought and felt that rumble crowd into her head and start to vibrate violently.

From the top of her head, the rumble gained in speed and sound, pounding and pulling at her chest in a downward wave, crashing through her feet and rippling out around her. As the thunder left out of the bottom of her feet, the ripple manifested in a rolling wave under the floorboards, silent but moving away.

Grace audibly gasped but didn't pull her hand back, her eyes quickly scanning the floor for that outward ripple. The feeling had lasted less than 2 seconds.

"Did you see that?" her eyes shot up from the floor and landed on Edward. Grace thought she saw his lip curl ever so slightly. Bella looked unperturbed but her eyes widened in surprise.

"See what?" she looked around her. Grace took a beat and felt her heart settle as the aftershock of the ripple left her body, small vibrations smoothing into nothing.

"Nothing." she said shaking her head and letting her hand fall from Edwards. He looked nonplussed and raised his eyebrows comically at Bella.

"Well, Edward was gonna take me on a hike. Did you want to come?" Bella asked. Edward's face looked measured but somewhat surprised.

Something in Grace told her not to go.

"Nah, I'm going to check in with her mom and get some reading done." she replied, tucking some stray strands of hair behind her ear.

"Another bookworm. The likeness is growing." Edward said smoothly, a small smile peeling his mouth open and a glittering chuckle rolled out. Grace shrugged and wished them well and headed back upstairs to her room.

When she was safely behind the closed bedroom door, she let go of a full breath that caused her heart rate to spike. Her breathing became ragged and she felt an icy tingle snake slowly up her back. It felt like panic, but she wasn't sure why. Could it be what she felt when she shook Edward's hand? That was pretty weird, but it hadn't been followed by a sense of rising panic.

She put a hand over her chest and one on her stomach trying to take slow, smooth breaths like the counselor had told her. The one she'd seen when her dad died.

_ Focus on something still, calm your breath, calm your mind. In and out. In and out. _

But every exhale came out as shuddering, then gasping breaths. Grace could feel her pulse quicken, beating against the skin of her wrist as if the blood was trying to burst through.

She collapsed onto her bed and her vision started to blur and go dark. It was over, this life, it had to be. This was it. But as the ceiling blurred in and out of focus, Grace wasn't upset or scared. As her vision faded, a warm coppery hand shimmered and reached out to her.

So she let go and reached back, relieved.


	2. Bracelet

There was cool air blowing over Grace’s face when she pulled her eyes open. She pulled in a deep breath as her eyes darted around the room to take in everything. For a brief moment, she didn’t realize where she was. The darkness of the room crushed in around her and the familiar shapes were shifting menacing blobs. 

Grace pulled herself up and rested on her elbows. Cold sweat freckled her forehead and beaded through her hair. Low, blue evening light flooded her shared room. 

_ How long have I been out? _

The white and black Quileute blanket was pulled up around her waist. She wasn’t sure how it had gotten there. Had someone covered her or had she pulled it up over her in her sleep? 

For a moment, Grace tried to recall what she had seen right before she went out. She was pretty sure she’d seen her father’s face, but didn’t think anything of it as she usually had visions of her dad as she fell asleep. The moment between her and Edward escaped her at this moment, whether that was her own mind trying to protect itself or something else was unclear. 

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and tested her weight on her legs. Feeling fine, she stood up and slowly made her way downstairs. Charlie was parked in front of the TV watching some fishing championship show. He glanced over at her as she walked past. 

“Didn’t know you were here, were you upstairs?” he asked. 

“Uh, yeah, I fell asleep I guess.” Grace’s throat scratched and she excused herself to the kitchen to get some water. As she filled the glass, she had sudden flashes of her interaction with Edward. She closed her eyes tightly, a painful grimace pulling across her face as the light from these flashes were blinding. Grace leaned with her back against the edge of the sink and gulped down the glass of water. 

Just as she finished, a shrill ring came from the left–the landline. Grace eyed it for a moment, skepticism furrowing her brow. 

“Can you grab that, Gracie?” Charlie yelled from the living room. Grace took one more beat and then shot her arm out for the phone. She felt like she knew who it was before she even answered it. 

“Swan residence.” Her voice was smoother, but with a lower cadence to it, smokey and soft. 

“Grace.” 

Silence. Breath caught in her throat cutting her means to speech. 

“Grace?” Billy’s familiar, warm voice echoed on the other end. 

“Yes. Hi.” Grace finally managed to push out. 

“It’s good to hear your voice. I’ve been meaning to come by the house and see you but our truck is having some issues running. Jake is fixing it, but I wanted to see how you were settling it.” His voice was tinged with emotion, she could hear it. She could feel it, even as far away from the rez as she was. She could feel it and she could feel a pull coming from the other line. 

“I- I’m fine Billy, thanks for checking in.” her voice slightly cracked as she spoke his name out loud. 

“Oh, Gracie-” It seemed like he could feel her emotions too. It was too much. Right now it was way too much. 

“Listen, thanks for calling, but I was just about to start cooking dinner and I have some reading to catch up on. School’s starting soon and I want to be on top of things...for mom. So I- I have to go.” The words hurried out and away from her like a runaway train. If she paused for too long, a sob would overwhelm her and she didn’t want that to happen. 

“Right. Listen, about school….If you wanted to come to school on the rez, it might be an easier transition. You know you’d be welcome and it might be good to reconnect-”

“Thanks Billy, but I really have to go.” She hung up. Guilt flooded through her instantly. Her hand hovered over the rehooked receiver for a moment before she pulled away and jerked open the fridge. 

“Charlie, you hungry?” She yelled from the kitchen, trying to practice control in her voice. 

“Uh, yeah, sure! Thanks Grace.” he called back. 

She wiped one fallen tear from her cheek and got to work. 

* * *

**August**

The first week of school was upon her. She had been trying to clear the jitters rushing through her for the past month. 

July had passed without incident and August was much of the same. Bella had invited her to go hiking a couple of times and they even went to Port Angeles for a bookstore run together. Edward had made himself scarce since that first day they had met. Grace had been concerned at first and worried that she had offended him somehow or that he didn’t like her. 

During her trip to Port Angeles with Bella, she asked her about it. 

“What do you mean?” Bella asked, feigning surprise. 

“I mean, I don’t know, I just haven’t really seen him. You always skip off to be with him and by the time I come downstairs he’s like halfway out the door. Is it something I said?” Grace placed a loose piece of hair behind her ear. She had opted for pulling her hair up into a messy bun and some pieces hung in strands around her face. 

“Grace, that’s definitely not what’s happening.” Bella responded, shaking her head and smiling. Grace narrowed her eyes. 

“Then what’s happening?” She asked. Intuitive as usual. Bella tripped over an uneven step in the sidewalk and looked down abruptly. When she looked up, she pointed to a shop ahead of them. 

“Let’s check out this place!” Grace had let it go for now, but she realized that there was definitely a reason he was keeping her distance. She just wasn’t sure why. 

* * *

The Sunday night before her first day at Forks High, Grace was in the bathroom braiding her hair into two soft plaits. She wanted to make a good impression and part of any good impression at a new school was making sure you only stood out in good ways. 

For Grace, one of the best features she liked about herself was her hair. She understood how typical that was, but it was something that connected her to everything she wished to forget and yet she loved it. Her black hair was shiny and coarse and it fanned out around her face announcing itself first as her most prominent feature. It fell straight down her back most often, but in the damp of Forks, her hair had a slight wave to it which she could enhance using braids her mother taught her when she was younger. 

Her mother loved her hair and had spent countless hours throughout her childhood combing it with her fingers and a brush and braiding it expertly through her slender fingers. 

Grace caught her eyes in the mirror and slowly combed through the loose ends of her hair with her fingers, carefully braiding each piece. Bella climbed the steps and rested in the doorframe of the open bathroom. 

“Hey, so Edward usually gives me a ride to school in the mornings, but I was thinking we could just take my truck since it’s your first day. Sound good?” 

Grace turned and gave her a quick smile. “Yeah, thanks.” 

More confirmation of him avoiding her. Well, he couldn’t avoid her forever, they had AP Chem together. 

The morning drive into school was easy, if a little dreary. The hum of Bella’s truck was comforting. Bella had promised to show her around to her classes and introduce her to the group of friends she had at school. I was surprised when she mentioned friends other than Edward seeing as she only ever spent time with him that summer. Regardless, Grace would be thankful for new people. 

When they parked, Bella’s eyes rested over Edward’s Volvo parked a few rows away. He was waiting on the steps for her. A light drizzle began misting from the sky. Bella couldn’t help but smile and Grace couldn’t help but feel happy for her. This guy, however intense, seemed to bring out the brightest parts of Bella. 

They both popped open their doors simultaneously and slung their bags over their shoulder. Grace smoothed down the frizz forming on her wavey black hair and was pulling her sleeves down when she heard joyful exclamation from Bella. 

“Jake!” Grace’s head shot up and her eyes darted around the parking lot. Maybe this was some school friend. But once Grace rested her eyes on the warm, broad figure of Jacob Black, she knew who Bella was addressing. 

Though taken by surprise, Grace couldn’t help but feel a warm, calm pulse through her. Bella bounded toward Jake and Grace hesitated. Jake cracked an overwhelming smile, emanating glee as Bella threw her whole body at him to catch despite the raised looks she was getting. He embraced her and Grace, head up, clutching her backpack trudged forward on the weight pavement. 

“What are you doing here?” Bella asked, the smile still plastered across her face. He returned the smile in kind and nodded toward Grace, only glancing briefly at her before gluing his eyes back to Bella. 

“My Dad wanted me to drop off a good luck gift for Grace, so I thought I’d swing by.” Bella blew out a breath of happy air and peered around Jake to meet Edward’s gaze. Jake looked over his shoulder, unimpressed and seemingly undisturbed. Edward was keeping his face smooth, but Grace could feel what felt like jealousy coming from his eyes. Bella hesitated and then patted Jake on the arm and with a “It was good to see you, come by soon!” she skipped off across the parking lot, leaving Grace facing a towering Jake. 

“Hey,” his voice was friendly, warm, uninvested. Grace pulled her backup up a little bit, her eyes falling to the ground. 

“Hey” she returned. 

“You haven’t come by the rez. My dad was hoping you’d stop by.” he relayed coolly. 

“Yeah, sorry. Just been busy getting ready for my new life.” She gestured around her. Jake smirked. 

“Right, well anyway. I’ve been tasked with dropping this off.” He unfurled his right hand before her. In it was an intricately braided cedar bracelet, dotted with green and auburn bloodstone. Grace’s mouth automatically fell open at the incredible detail woven through the patterned bracelet. This was something her father once showed her how to make when she was little but the art of it escaped her now. 

“Wow.” she breathed. She could feel tears coming to her eyes and took a step back to look up at Jake to steady herself. She didn’t know why, but this felt like what she needed. To look upon a familiar face, like her own and feel the pull of home and it’s comfort. Jake held her gaze for a moment, his dark eyes swimming with mystery. 

“Here.” He closed the gap between them and deftly encircled her wrist with the bracelet. He tied it off with a quick braid, mirroring the pattern of the bracelet and then gently raised her wrist and lowered his head to meet it. She could feel his warm breath move across the delicate skin of her wrist and just the hint of his lips brushing the base of her palm as he took the long loose thread in his mouth and bit it clean off. 

“There.” He smiled, satisfied with his work and letting her hand go quickly. 

Grace couldn’t take her eyes from the bracelet for a bit as she tried to hush the well of emotion budding inside her. She took a deep breath and smiled up at Jake, feeling more whole than she had in awhile. 

“Thanks.” 

“Of course.” he shoved his hands in his pocket taking a step back and retreating somewhat. “Come by sometime. I don’t know how long I can keep Billy at bay with these faulty repairs I’m pulling.” He ducked his head and jogged off waving to Bella as he passed. 

Faulty repairs? Was he buying her time? But why? She watched him disappear down the street toward his Rabbit and hop in a drive off. Every cell in her body felt pulled in the direction Jake was driving off in, but Grace planted her feet, wrenched her gaze up to meet Bella’s and a seemingly bristled Edward, and moved toward the high school. 

_ This can work.  _ She repeated to herself. It had to. 

  
  



	3. Birthday

Grace had stacked as many advanced classes to her course load as she could. Mostly, she did it to make it up to her mom and show her she could be the studious kid she once knew. 

Bella had gotten Grace settled into her AP European History course and moved off to English, Edward’s hand on her lower back. He had given me a good morning and a smile and then stayed in contemplative silence as Bella gave her the low down about navigating Forks High. 

Bella seemed incredibly comfortable in her new home of Forks even though she had only attended this school a couple months longer than Grace. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Edward was always by her side, a clear guiding rod through the chaos of high school. Grace suddenly felt cold. 

After the bell rang, Grace gathered her things methodically and headed to the door. Bella turned the corner, Edward in tow beside her, when she looked over. Grace gave a small wave and Bella smiled back. They looped arms and Bella tugged her along down the hall. 

“What’s next?” Bella asked bumping her with her shoulder. 

“AP Chem.” Grace said matter of factly without having to pull her schedule from her pocket. “With Edward, if I’m not mistaken,” she peered around Bella and met Edwards cool gaze. 

“Indeed. With Mr. Hurmshore.” He smiled down at Bella and carried the smile to Grace. It was starting to look a little more natural. 

Grace took this as a good sign and when Bella stopped her at the door for AP Chem. 

“Okay, you two. Have fun,” she tripped over the word ‘fun’ and her mouth pulled up on side as she stifled a laugh. Grace rolled her eyes and turned into the classroom, leaving Edward and Bella to say their lovey goodbye. 

She handed the teacher her slip and was guided to an empty lab table. When Edward walked in the room, he bee lined it for her. Grace raised her eyebrows in surprise--she didn’t expect him to willingly take a seat next to her given her cool reception these past couple of months. He pulled out a notebook and flipped to an open page lazily and turned his head to meet her eyes. 

“Here we go.” he smiled. 

Grace was surprised how quickly the class passed by. She was invested in the lesson, but tried to make small talk with Edward. She loved Bella and knew Edward was a significant part of her life. She wanted to know that part too. Her small talk seemed to be working. Edward was carrying on polite conversation with her and never tried to look away or grimace or pull his lips back over his teeth unconsciously. 

They talked about Oklahoma and her friends there, how she was liking Forks so far, and what she thought of sharing a room with Bella. 

“She’s a pretty deep sleeper,” Grace laughed. “She talks in her sleep, too. It’s kind of great.” 

Edward smiled and jotted down a reaction from their lab experiment nodding his head, “I’ve heard that, actually.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, she told me one time that it woke her mother up when they were on a road trip together. Scared her half to death.” 

“Oh,” Grace let out a chuckle, “Makes sense.” 

By the time they exited the class together, they were laughing at a shared joke. Bella was elated as they walked to lunch together at their new found friendship. 

Bella introduced her to her group of friends—Angela, Ben, Jessica, Mike—and they fell into step. Grace always had an effortless ability to mesh well in a group. Her broad, bright smile, and warm welcoming demeanor always drew people in. She was able to read faces and body language in a way that allowed her to lean into their likes and avoid their dislikes. By the end of lunch, her and Angela Weber had exchanged numbers to talk at length about a book they were both reading and Jessica was trying to recruit her for the volleyball team. 

**September**

The morning of Bella’s birthday was extraordinarily foggy. Grace couldn’t sleep and sat in the early morning hours on her bed looking out the large bay window waiting for the sun to rise. She picked at the bracelet that lay on her wrist, a constant comfort for her. 

When Bella finally stirred at quarter past seven, Grace bounded over to her bed and bounced over top of her. “Happy BIRTHDAY!” she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air and shimmying her upper body. “You’re eighteen, you’re eighteen, you’re eighteen today, hey hey hey!” she lilted in no particular tune. 

Bella grinned and turned her head back into her pillow. “Okay okay okay. Thank yooou. It’s my birthday, thank you.” 

“Wow, eighteen. You don’t look a day older than seventeen.” Grace laughed and paused for the bad joke to sink in. 

“Ha ha.” Bella pushed herself up, sending Grace toppling into the space next to her. 

“Hey! Watch it. That’s not how you treat someone who has a birthday gift for you.” 

“Oh no, you didn’t. Grace! I told you, no-”

“No gifts. Yeah yeah, I got it. No one cares and I guarantee everyone got you a gift.” Grace smiled unapologetically at Bella, “Get over it, dude.”

Bella’s mouth hung open, speechless. 

“Anyway,” Grace rolled her eyes and dipped a hand under Bella’s bed to produce a small wrapped square. 

“You hid it under my bed?” 

“Work smarter, they always say,” Grace shrugged. 

Bella took the gift with a genuine smile and gently pulled the paper away to reveal a warm auburn colored leather journal that was stamped with the landscape of a mossy covered cliff face and dotted beach along the Washington coast. It looked not unlike La Push beach. 

“This is great. Thanks Gracie. I was actually hoping for something like this.” Bella flipped through the hand cut pages and gave Grace a reassuring look. 

Just then a knock sounded on the door and Charlie pushed it open with more gifts in his hands. 

“Haaaappy birthday,” he said gently. 

“Told yah,” Grace said. 

* * *

Bella was a resistant birthday girl, but went along with the wants of others nonetheless. Alice had invited Bella to the Cullen home that night for a birthday dinner after handing her a perfectly wrapped green and black velvet gift. Grace had been back at her locker grabbing a few things, but Bella had told her afterwards. 

“Is that okay? I know you and Charlie wanted to take me to the diner.” Bella looked at Grace almost with a pleading look. 

“Of course! We’ll do it Friday night instead. No big.” Grace hadn’t had much interaction with most of the Cullens. They had kept their distance from her even though her and Edward were becoming fast friends. 

Grace hadn’t really thought much of it, but it felt like a clear line was being drawn. Maybe she was reading too much into it. 

As Bella waved from the passenger side of Edward’s car in her green dress before heading off to the Cullen’s for her party, Grace couldn’t help but feel a sinking weight settle in her. She shook her head to try and clear the feeling and plopped herself on the couch next to Charlie. She pulled a tangle of threads before her and set to the meticulous task of practicing the intricate braiding she once knew as a child.

The TV hummed in front of her and she tucked her feet under her grey baggy sweatpants, pushing loose strands of hair away from her face that had fallen from her low hanging ponytail. She readjusted the green flannel button up and brushed some loose crumbs from her black tank top. Charlie’s hand loosely grasped a beer hanging of the side of his recliner. Every now and then Grace glanced up at the gentle glow of the TV. The quiet that hung between her and Charlie was calming. It made sense then that she didn’t realize when she had fallen asleep and woke to the click of the front door. 

Charlie’s snores emanated softly from his recliner. 

“Bells?” Grace whispered leaning up to look over the back of the couch toward the front door. 

Bella either didn’t hear her or chose not to answer her as she climbed the stairs toward their room. When Grace picked herself up off the couch and reached the bottom of the steps, she saw light filtering under the closed bathroom door at the top of the landing. Grace quietly climbed the stairs and let a gentle knock on the bathroom door. 

“Bella? You okay?” 

“Yeah, fine. Just getting changed” Bella’s small voice was almost covered by the sound of running tap water. 

“Okay.” Grace looked at the door with worry and went to climb into bed. She was dozing off by the time Bella made her way into the room--she tiptoed in and tried to make as little noise as possible, hoping not to wake Grace most likely and talk about the evening. 

The next day was worse. 

Grace donned her raincoat and shuffled out the door, only to be confronted by Bella standing on the steps looking out at the street. 

“You okay? Where’s Edward?” Usually Edward would pick up Bella and Grace would take the truck in. Sometimes they all rode together, but Grace appreciated the time alone to think in the truck on her way to school. 

“I’m not sure.” Bella’s voice was dull and her eyes searched the street. 

“Come on, let’s get in the truck, it’s cold.” Grace ushered Bella into the truck and looked down the street one last time before climbing in the driverside. 

“Did something happen last night?” Grace asked as she turned on the engine and brought her mittened hands to her face to warm up. Bella was staring out the windshield, her eyes far away for a moment. 

“N-no. I mean, I cut myself cutting the cake last night” Bella touched her upper arm gingerly and trailed off. “Let’s go, it’s fine.” She said with more resolve. Grace nodded and they glided off down the rain slicked roads that were threatening to turn to ice. 

The school day filled Grace with worry. Mostly because in between classes, Bella drifted further and further away from herself. The far away look in her eyes deepened and it seemed like she was shuttering. Grace was able to pull her from her reveries momentarily each time but she could see a small panic rising in Bella. 

When they got home, Edward was waiting on the lawn, his hands shoved in his pockets and head down. He seemed to be wearing the same outfit as the night before. Grace looked over to Bella who was frozen in place for a moment. She gave Bella a look. 

“It’s okay, I’m going to go talk to him. Don’t wait up.” Bella pushed out of the truck and Grace waited while she crossed the lawn to him, stopping a little short. Edward made eye contact with Grace, a look of confirmation or acknowledgement, before nodding toward the forest. Grace could clearly make out the word “walk” from his lips. Bella nodded, looked over her shoulder at Grace and gave a weak smile before traipsing into the woods after Edward. 

Grace started for a second, she almost followed them. The pit in her stomach grew again and she had to catch her breath. She wanted to call out ‘Wait!’ but the sound never came. She sat in the truck, cold, eyes focused on the darkened space where they had disappeared through the trees until her teeth chattered so hard she had to retreat into the house. 

Her stomach flipped as she closed the door and fell back against it. 

As night drew in, Grace paced the living room floor, raincoat still on, waiting. How long would she wait to go after her? There was no way they could still be in the woods, it had started raining, sleeting almost. They’d be freezing. But Bella would have come back home if they had finished talking. 

Anxiety raced through Grace. Then, she heard Charlie’s cruiser pull up the drive and she stopped pacing for a moment. She tried to calm her body, but when Charlie crossed the threshold, he took one look at her face and the worry was clear. 

“What’s wrong?” He looked alarmed around the room. “Where’s Bella?” 

Of course he knew. 

* * *

Grace was sitting on the porch with her head in her hands as the collection of volunteers rushed around the lawn. Harry Clearwater was the first to arrive, assuring Charlie that he’d sent a local party out into the woods to begin looking for Bella. Charlie had grilled Grace about which way Bella had left into the woods and confirmed at least ten times that it was Edward she left with. 

After she had confirmed loudly for the tenth time, Charlie had made a small involuntary noise. 

Now, as rain misted Grace’s hair and the crackle of the police radio echoed across the front lawn, she was kicking herself for not going after her. For not stopping her when she felt that feeling in her stomach. This night couldn’t get any worse. 

“We’re going to find her Charlie.” Billy Black’s voice reached too close. Her head shot up and she stood too quickly, blood rushing quickly from her head. She wobbled slightly on the step which caught Billy’s eye and he nodded, a stern almost unforgiving look on his face. Jacob stood close by. “You said you saw her go into the woods last, for sure?” Billy confirmed. 

“Grace did, she said he was there after they got back from school and Bella left with him through that small path clearing.” Charlie’s head was bent over the map of the woods. Grace tried to take a step down, but stumbled, her head still swimming. She couldn’t feel the bottoms of her feet. 

“Jake. Stay with her will you?” Billy nodded his head toward Grace and Jacob jogged the short distance across the lawn to meet her. She cleared the bottom step just as he came up on her and stood next to her. 

“Are you okay?” Jake asked. 

“Yeah, sorry just woozy.” 

“K, well stay next to me. I don’t want to get in trouble when you fall and smack your head on the pavement.” He grinned and placed his hand under her elbow guiding her over to sit in the bed of the truck. He wrapped his arm around her waist and gently hoisted her up onto the lowered truck bed door. She didn’t protest, but was surprised when he hopped up next to her and pulled her raincoat hood gently up over her head. 

“Thanks.” Grace said weakly. 

“No problem.” he breathed out looking around. “How long has she been gone for?” he asked nonchalantly, as if Bella was just off running an errand. 

“A solid 8 hours. She left immediately after we got home from school,” Grace recited as she clutched the side of the truck. 

“That dude she’s dating kind of creeps me out. He doesn’t seem right,” Grace tilted her head to look at him and he quickly corrected himself saying, “For her I mean. Like he just doesn’t seem like her type.”

“Oh?” Grace raised an eyebrow, a little annoyed. “And who is her type?” 

Jake moved a little uneasy. His long dark hair swayed in front of his face, a curtain separating them. She had the undeniable urge to reach out and run her fingers through it. She could smell that familiar warm wood smell emanating from him that she for so long associated with home. 

She didn’t realize how long she had been staring, zoning out and not quite hearing Jake’s explanation of exactly who Bella’s type was until he looked over at her, 

“What are you staring at?” He said a little taken off guard. 

“Oh, sorry. Nothing, just lost in thought. I’m having trouble staying here with all this going on. What were you saying?” Grace tried to regain some normalcy in her movements and keep her eyes focused on the ground, her hands, anything to keep from staring at Jacob Black any longer. She heard him chuckle just then and turned to look at him. How calming and odd it was that Jacob, during this insane moment of chaos, could be so at ease, asking questions, so sure that nothing could be wrong or at the very least give off the vibe that nothing was wrong. 

“What?” Grace asked. 

“It reminds me of that time when we were little and my mom took us to that children’s center right off the rez. You somehow snuck away when she was checking us in. You were supposed to be holding my hand, but you got distracted, got this far away look in your eye and wandered off. When they found you down by that small creek behind the center, you said you had trouble staying put.” He laughed a little. “Do you remember that?” 

Familiar warmth rushed through Grace. While she didn’t remember that moment, she remembered that feeling. Letting go of his hand and slipping away. 

“My mom was so mad,” Grace shook her head smiling. “Why’d you let me let go of you?” 

Jake sighed, “I don’t know,” he stated simply. “Lesson learned.” he bumped his shoulder against hers and Grace let out a sigh of relief. All of the tension had left her body during their conversation. 

“Charlie!” A call came from the south side of the trees on the opposite edge of where Bella had disappeared through. Grace and Jake’s heads snapped around and they hurried over behind Charlie who was hustling toward Sam Uley. 

“She’s alright,” Sam declared, holding a lifeless looking Bella in his arms. Charlie immediately went to grab her from him. 

Grace left out a soft whimper of relief and her left hand moved of its own accord to grip Jacob’s forearm and steady herself. 

“She’s alright,” Jake said quietly and pulled her in into a tight hug. Grace nodded her head in his chest, gripping onto his shoulders, tears stinging her eyes. 

_ She’s alright.  _

  
  



	4. Dream Catcher

Bella hadn’t really gained consciousness the night she was found. She was in and out in a state of stable delirium. Charlie had carried her upstairs with some effort and laid her on the bed, pulling her muddy shoes off. Grace gently pulled away her raincoat and hung it up behind the door. Charlie sat on the edge of her bed and rested a hand on her side, pain etched all over his face. 

“Charlie,” Grace said barely above a whisper. “Let me get her out of the rest of the wet clothes so we can get her warm. She’s okay.” Grace put a hand on his shoulder and he closed his eyes tightly nodding his head. He picked himself up and walked slowly out the room, turning to take another pained look at Bella before he closed the door behind him. 

Grace carefully got Bella changed into warm clothes and even socked her feet in the cozy fuzzy socks Grace’s mom got her for Christmas. She covered her up and settled in next to her, placing an arm around her and listening for her constant breathing. 

“What happened?” she whispered into the dark to no one in particular. 

**October**

Grace was sitting at the small three-seater kitchen table and chewing her toast methodically as she reread another section from  _ Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man  _ for her AP English midterm that morning. Charlie shuffled through the newspaper, his eyes darting toward the staircase every now and then. 

“She’s coming, don’t worry.” Grace mumbled between her toast without looking up from her book. Charlie squirmed uncomfortably. 

The last three weeks had not been great for anyone. Bella had collapsed in on herself and hadn’t been to school since the incident. She hadn’t been taking meals or showers and would hardly get out of a bed. Grace would quietly shuffle into their room throughout the day and plop on Bella’s bed with a plate of food. Sometimes Bella would respond after Grace patiently waited for sometimes an hour, and sometimes Bella would fall back asleep. 

The nightmares were the worst. Almost every night, Grace was startled awake, her heart crashing through her chest and hurtling over her bed to get to Bella’s. It sounded like a dying animal, like someone was twisting a hot knife in Bella’s stomach. Grace could normally calm her before Charlie hurried into the doorframe. After three weeks of this though, Grace would normally find herself waking up in Bella’s bed, an arm wrapped around her, after falling asleep next to her to calm her. 

But after almost a month of Bella confined to her bed, Charlie put his foot down and told Bella she had to get back to her life. Grace agreed, holding her hand and nodding sympathetically. Bella had agreed reluctantly, that far away look permanently etched in her eyes. And that morning, as Grace poured over her book and Charlie cleared his throat for the umpteenth time, Bella finally stumbled down the stairs, gave a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and nodded toward the door.

Without looking up, Grace closed her book and headed toward the door, running a hand down Bella’s arm reassuringly as she passed. 

Grace’s every day had become mechanical as she cared for Bella and kept Charlie on track. She relished in the work of caring for them a little bit, but found the exhaustion setting in as Bella finally poked back into the real world. She had never told Grace what had happened in the woods that night and now it felt too dangerous to ask. 

As they pulled into the school parking lot, Bella’s eyes gravitated toward the empty space that Edward’s car used to occupy. Her face darkened and she turned an ashen color. Grace glanced at the spot from her space behind the wheel and back over to Bella. 

“You can do this.” She gave a soft smile. “Ready?” Grace didn’t wait for an answer and pushed the door open after a couple of seconds and hiked her backpack over her shoulder. Bella took off toward her first class, head down, hood up, and circumvented the crowd. Grace watched after her and started heading toward the staircase when she heard a familiar shout across the parking lot. 

“Hey Grace!” She whipped around to see Jacob Black waving from the end of the sidewalk. She smiled and jogged over to meet him. 

“What are you doing here?” She breathed out a puff of steam, indicative of the chilly autumn air that had started to settle over the greater Washington area. 

Standing in front of Jacob, Grace realized that he now towered over her. She’d only seen him a month ago but the difference was jarring. His shoulders had broadened and his face had sharpened around the edges. His hair was still the same long sheath of black that he ritualistically pulled back out of his face in a half bun, but he still retained an aura of softness. His bright white smile gleamed out from his warm face, a reflex she thought. 

“I heard Bella’s not been having an easy time since…” he hesitated and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well you know. So I brought something that might help. Will you give it to her for me?” Grace’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. 

“Sure what is it?” 

From the depths of his pockets, he pulled out a small dream catcher and held it up in front of Grace’s face. Grace looked upon it with sad wonder and watched the blue and green stones shine in the light. 

“It catches bad dreams.” Jacob stated nonchalantly and gave a small shrug.Grace reached her hand up and took it from his gently, her fingers brushing his ever so slightly. A hot white flash pulsed up at her hand and she glanced up quickly at Jacob to see if he noticed. His face was set as he watched her examine the dream catcher. 

“This is actually perfect. Thanks,” she smiled and carefully stowed it in her backpack. “I’ll get it to her.” 

“Cool, thanks.” Jacob took a step back from Grace and she immediately felt a draft of cold air push between them. She fought against a shiver rising up her back. “Anyway, if you need a break from the pale faces, you’re always welcome to stop by...hang out. Just to get away,” Grace searched his face but it was genuine and welcoming. “If you want.” 

“Thanks, I might just take you up on that.” While returning to the rez didn’t seem like the most exciting idea to her at the moment, she did need a breather from the neverending painfest in the Swan house. 

Jacob gave her an awkward nod and then turned and took off down the road toward his car. The bell had long ago rang and Grace had never heard it. Only once Jacob had cleared her immediate area did she realize that the lawn in front of the school was silent and a soft drizzle misted around her. She took one last look as Jacob climbed into his car and she bolted for her first class, unsure of how late she actually was. 

**November**

Bella had resumed her job at the Newton’s outdoor store. Grace had taken up a side gig running groceries to the elderly on her weekends to make some gas money and pad her fund for college. 

As the seasons changed, Bella seemed to sink further into herself. Sometimes Grace would find her just sitting and staring off into space for hours. Grace couldn’t seem to shake her from her comatose state sometime, so she thought it best to leave her be for now. 

On one particularly sunny November afternoon, Grace was tasked with running a set of groceries to a couple in La Push. This was odd because most patrons of the Forks grocery store were local, but this couple was close to the edge of the rez. After she dropped off the groceries and gave a warm goodbye to the couple, Grace was buoyed with a moment of happiness. 

This was her first foray onto the rez and she felt just fine. No earth shattering, stomach dropping, blackout inducing, cold sweats and pain. She was suddenly shot through with a desire to test this newfound feeling deeper onto the rez. 

Grace winded her way through the damp and leaf covered streets toward the only house she thought she could bear. As she pulled into the familiar dirt driveway, her truck announced her presence. 

She hopped down from the truck, taking in a deep breath of autumn air and letting the coolness wash over her. This was easy. She could do this. Why had she been so scared? 

“Grace!” Jacob was wiping a tool off with a oil-dirtied rag and was frozen for just a moment in the entrance of the small garage before he tossed it to the side and took off for her, the smile stretching across his whole face so hard that she thought she might burst with excitement. 

When he didn’t stop running toward her, Grace couldn’t help but let a laugh escape as he scooped her up in a warm, tight hug and spun her around. She held on just as tightly back and felt the feeling of home pulse through her. Her heart quickened and she took another deep breath as he held her for a second before setting her down. The energy wafting between them was natural, electric, and the world seemed to quiet around them temporarily. 

She couldn’t say that she wasn’t surprised by Jacob’s reaction. They’d only seen each other a handful of times since she’d moved here in the summer, but it’s like they fell into step, or like a magnet appeared that kept them together once they were near enough. 

“It’s so good to see you.” he beamed. 

“You too! You said I should stop by and I was in the area dropping off some groceries to the Tallutes, so here I am.” Grace realized now that she had no idea what she was doing here. She hadn’t really thought about it, it just felt like the truck carried her here. 

“Well, I was just working on the rabbit in the garage, do you wanna come in and hang out?” Leave it to Jacob to make things feel effortless. She let out an easy sigh and nodded vigorously, following him into the garage. 

While she watched him work and handed him the odd tool every now and then, they settled into easy conversation. They talked about school, the rez politics, Bella, how Grace was feeling in Forks now that she felt more settled, her plans for college, and his plans for opening a garage one day. Nothing felt too hard, even when she started talking about her dad, unprompted. Jacob had slid out from under the car and sat on the low rolling stool in front of her to give his undivided attention while she talked about how different it was being back on the rez without him, seeing as she had left here with him, but that the pain hadn’t come over her like she thought it would. He watched her face for a long time as she spoke.

When it got too dark for Jake to continue working and when Grace thought it might be time to head back so as not to worry Charlie. They made their way out from the garage side by side, laughing, Grace bumping her shoulder into Jake’s arm as they walked. They heard the sound of car doors slamming and looked up in time to see Billy and Harry Clearwater emerge under the patio light. 

“Well, well, well, look who decided to make it out to the rez,” Billy crossed his arms over his lap as a gentle smile grew across his face. 

“Good to see you Billy, Harry,” Grace nodded at them both, the tension somewhat returning in her body. Billy seemed genuinely happy to see her and Jake standing next to her kept her feeling warm. 

“Is that little Grace Alo?!” Harry beamed and drew her into a tight hug, “It’s good to see you little one.” Grace muffled a greeting of hello and once released retreated back to Jacob’s side. He looked down and laughed a little at her. 

“You should join us, there’s a tribal gathering next Friday. A lot of familiar faces will be there and would love to see you.” Harry suggested. 

Grace froze. Billy looked at her expectantly. She glanced up at Jacob. 

“Uuuuuh,” her mouth hung open in uncertainty, but Jacob shrugged and gave her a little nod and she looked back to Harry, “Sure, why not?” Inside her head, she was screaming. This was going to be too much for sure, why had she agreed to this? 

She could feel her heartbeat rocket as Harry smiled and clasped his hands together in excitement. Billy nodded graciously and turned his chair to wheel up the ramp. 

Grace internally crumbled as she ambled the rest of the way toward the truck. Jake pulled open the driver side door and she climbed in before he shut it behind her. He rested his forearms across the open window and looked up at her, 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, just not sure I can actually make it next week.” the pained look returned to Grace’s face. 

“It’ll be fine. You should come over here and we’ll walk there together. Sound good?” Grace gave a small moan of uncertainty and he leaned back from the window and smacked it with his hands. “Good! Love the enthusiasm.” 

She started the key in the ignition and shook her head laughing some. 

“Be careful driving home, the wolves are out.” Jacob looked up at the protruding full moon making it’s way up over the treeline. 

She laughed and nodded, “I will. Thanks Jake...and thanks for today.” 

“Anytime… hey do me a favor and give me a call when you get in. Just so I know you haven’t been whisked off into the woods somewhere.”

She nodded and pulled out of the drive, letting the lights wash over his broad frame. This was the best she’d felt in years and all it took was one drive to the reservation and a day spent in the garage with someone who was suddenly becoming her best friend. 

As she drove her way back to Forks, she ducked her head to see out the windshield and look up at the moon. It was so bright but it cast odd shadows on the trees that made her second guess what Jacob had said about the wolves. 

When she reached home, she hurried inside and picked up the receiver in the kitchen, quickly dialing the number she remembered from her childhood. It took two quick rings before she heard a: “Grace?” on the other end. 

She couldn’t help but smile, “Yeah, it’s me. I just got in. Unscathed.” 

“Glad to hear it. No wolves I take it?” 

“None that could tempt me.” 

“Alright then, little red riding hood.” 

She laughed a little too loud and heard Charlie’s snores cease and shuffling. 

“Oops, I woke Charlie. Gotta go.” 

“See you soon, red.” She could hear the hint of a smile in his voice. 


	5. Firelight

Everyday since she had agreed to the showing up for the gathering, Jacob called her. She even got slightly annoyed that by Thursday he was timing his calls so well that the phone in the kitchen would ring as soon as she set her bag down on the kitchen table. 

Charlie thought it was hysterical and Bella would raise an eyebrow and give a halfhearted laugh before her eyes went dark again. 

“He sure seems to like you,” Charlie drawled leaning against the frame of the kitchen doorway. 

“We’re just friends,” Grace stated matter of factly drying her hands off with a towel draped over the sink handle, “And anyway, he’s just making sure I’m coming to this tribal council gathering tomorrow night.” She lifted the receiver quickly and cradled it against her shoulder as she popped open the fridge to start something for dinner, “Hey, Jake.” 

Charlie put his hands up in mock surrender and backed out of the kitchen to an eye roll from Grace. 

* * *

School rocketed by on Friday as Grace’s nerves intensified. As she was standing in front of the mirror in their bedroom, adjusting her blue denim jacket lined with white fleece, she stared over at Bella, who was sitting up but slumped over a pillow in bed. 

“Are you sure you can’t come?” Grace almost pleaded. She smoothed the front of her thick, red knitted sweater over her torso and leaned down to lace up the brown mountain boots. She decided to dress warm for the occasion, seeing as the night was definitely chillier than the last one she spent with Jake. She bustled up the wide red turtleneck around her neck and let her hair fall in waves down and around her shoulders. 

Bella gave a shrug followed by a defeated nod. “I can’t.” she croaked out. “Might be coming down with a cold or something.” 

Grace nodded and let it go. She at least thought she’d ask. 

“Okay, how do I look?” 

“Council ready.” Bella stated. 

“Good. Okay.” She exhaled and shook out her hands and turned for the door. The longer she waited, the more she’d second guess. And she had a sneaking suspicion that Jake might come looking for her if she flaked. 

She finished the look downstairs with a pair of beat up wool winter gloves her father had gotten her. She gave a quick goodbye to Charlie and hurtled out the door toward the truck. 

When she pulled up to Jacob’s driveway, she sat frozen. Just as she thought, this would be too much. Jacob was one thing, but the whole council would be there, minus her father of course, and the absence suddenly made her heart ache. 

She sat with her hands in her lap, ragged breath pulling in and out of her lung as she tried to keep tears springing from her eyes. Suddenly, there was a pounding in her ears and a deep rumbling sound coming up from between her feet again. Grace panicked and pushed open the door and nearly tumbled out from the truck. She grabbed the mirror for support until feeling returned in her feet and her vision cleared a little bit and slammed the door shut. 

This was Jacob’s cue. He ran around the side of the house in a simple grey t-shirt, a brown cord jacket and dark wash jeans. His hair was pulled all the way up in a loose bun that accentuated his sharp jaw. 

Grace was internally screaming at herself to get a grip and stand up straight to shake off whatever this rising panic was in her, but her hand remained clutched to the mirror as the landscape around her steadied. 

When he reached her across the lawn, he stopped just a little short to take her in. 

“You made it!” That Jacob smile warmed his face. He looked at her hand gripping the mirror, “You okay?” 

Grace let go quickly and stepped forward testing her feet. At least if she fell, she’d fall into him. 

“Yes, just a little nervous.” She gave a weak smile. He nodded in return and led her into the forest and down a worn path. When she crossed the threshold of the forest, her heartbeat quickened. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the dusky light casting shadows through the whispering trees or the low howl carrying down by the river. 

Though her breathing quickened, she felt no fear. The crushing darkness of the forest seemed to welcome her as it enveloped her. The feeling in her feet returned and she felt her senses heighten. The crisp fall air pushed around the trees decaying leaves causing a shiver to rush through the forest with each blow. 

She held her hands out and brushed it across the willowing branches and cold bark. When she exhaled, the sound intensified around her and billowed up around her head. Reflexively, she looked up to the deepening purple, black sky and sucked in a cool, refreshing breath. She felt if she pulled in from her lungs hard enough, the stars might come down and trickle down her throat. When she straightened her head, she saw that Jacob had made his way a little farther down the path from her while she had been stuck in her reverie. 

But the forest felt like a hug, and she craved to stay in it’s dark, soft embrace a little longer. She stopped and looked, her eyes picked up the glimmer of damp on a wilting fern near the forest floor to the right of her. Then, a movement to her left caused her eyes to dart over and run across the soft warm fur of a common rabbit skittering across a patch of leaves. Her eyes picked up on the finite, rough texture of its fur, dirt and crushed leaves folded between the thick strands. And just as quickly, she heard a loud huff from an animal to her right. 

The low howls had ceased and with it the sounds of the forest had gone silent too. Her eyes careened through the darkness, patching together the strange figure less than ten feet from her, tucked behind a thicket of bushes. It was dark, huge, and had glowing yellow eyes. This was certainly a monster that could have been drummed up in her dreams as a kid, but instead of screaming, Grace found herself almost trance-like and stepping toward the figure. 

The creature took a step back from her hesitantly as she stretched out her arm and reached for it. She felt drawn toward the creature and her breath hitched in her throat. The creature came into focus, a huge black wolf, and a trickle of fear sparked in her belly. The wolf seemed transfixed as well and stomped its front paw on the wet earth in front of it and let out a low snarl. 

Grace hesitated but took one step forward, her foot cracking on a branch. The wolf snapped from its stare and took off. Grace felt the rumbling sound dissipate from her ears and her head cleared. A panicked Jacob was calling her name somewhere off in the now darkened woods. She looked around her quickly, shapes moving in the night around her, and took off toward Jacob’s voice. She crashed down the path and carefully climbed her way through a thicket of brush before breaking through to a clearing. Jacob was just on the other side. 

“Jake!” Grace’s voice was hoarse as she jogged toward him. 

“Where have you been? I turn around and you’re just gone?!” the fear in Jacob’s eyes ebbed a little bit. “We’re going to be late. Come on,” he took her hand in his and clasped it tight and warm. She let herself be tugged through the short rest of the walk before she could see the glow of the fire flickering through a clearing ahead. 

Grace tried to even out her breath and hurried to be walking next to Jake. He gave her head a warm squeeze before they broke through into the clearing and started walking toward the bonfire. 

“Guess word got out,” Jacob stated somewhat surprised. There was a throng of people milling about the site. Foldaway tables were set up off to the side filled with food, paper plates, and drinks. About 40-50 people were gathered in the clearing, some were huddled close by to the fire, laughing and throwing leaves or loose twigs in to make it pop, others were nearby in tight circles throwing their heads back and laughing as they caught up. 

“Jake.” Grace whispered softly, hesitancy thick in her voice. She let go of his hand and took a step back. Jake was quick though. 

“Come on, you’re already here. Look! Seth, Quil, and Embry are just there. Embry’s been dying to see you for some reason,” Jake rolled his eyes and placed his hand on her lower back and propelled her forward. 

A whooping sounded from the bonfire as both Quil and Embry saw Jake. The sound caused everyone else in the clearing to turn towards Grace and Jake. But Jake kept pushing her forward, even as the stares and whispers descended. Grace felt sick. She could see Billy’s warm smile beckoning her from across the clearing and with Jake’s arm around her and pushing her forward, she tried to just focus on what was ahead of her. 

Almost there. And then. 

An old, shrunken woman suddenly appeared in Jake and Grace’s path. It’s as if she materialized. When Grace tried to place her, she realized it was the same elder who had spoke to her father last before they left for Oklahoma. Their way to the bonfire was blocked by this little woman and it would be rude to circumvent her. Jacob seemed glued in place and Grace seemed to float on the spot, unsure of whether to stay or run. 

In a small, warm, gravelly voice, the old woman reached her hands up to Grace’s face, cupped it in her hands and pulled it down to meet her eye level and said, “Welcome home, little Alo.” 

Before she let her go, she draped a long woven necklace around her neck. Weighted at the bottom of the long necklace was a worn black stone cut in a circle with the silhouette of a bird etched in the middle and edged with white. 

Grace was frozen in place staring into the old woman’s eyes. Tears shone clearly but she didn’t let them fall. She allowed her face to be cradled and felt the softness of her hands emanate warmth into her face and creep down her throat. The woman held her there for a moment longer and said, “With grace and light, she flies.” 

The old woman took a step back, nodded at her and walked toward the fire. Grace followed and didn’t even stop to take in the quiet faces around her. Everyone had turned to stone and she was water washing through them. 

Once she settled by the fire, the chatter had resumed and a smile crested across her face in utter relief. 

Jacob took a seat beside her and gave her long, happy look. 

“Welcome home,” Billy said gently. 

“Thanks.” Grace replied. 

With that there was a rabble rousing cry that came from around the circle in celebration. Grace blushed a little and bumped her shoulder into Jake. 

_ This is working.  _

After being bombarded by members of the community asking about her wellbeing, after her mother, how she was settling in, and what her plans were for the future as she gathered some food from the foldaway tables, she settled between Quil and Jacob for the meeting to start. 

Billy waited until there was a low hush that fell around the circle. Grace felt comforted now by the gathered group surrounding her, insulated even. 

“Our legends have been gathered, written, and spoken across generations with different retellings and recollections, but one story remains consistent: the legend of our wolf warriors.” He looked around at the crowd of people and his eyes rested on Sam Uley. Grace hadn’t seen him make his way into the circle, and a shiver ran down her spine. Sam nodded at Billy almost imperceptibly. 

“But a lesser known legend that is just as important to the strength of the wolf warriors is that of the spirit bird. She guides our wolf warriors, acting as a conduit between the spirit and human world. Cousin only to the fierce thunderbird, she is deeply connected to the earth and forest where the thunderbird wields lightning and thunder, water and rain. She is quick and smart and adept at reading the signs set before her where others walk blindly through. She shields and protects our wolf warriors like she did in the great river battle and whenever a cold one threatens our blood. She is fierce and free and buoys us all.” 

Billy’s eyes carried around the rest of the crowd and paused only slightly on Grace. She clutched the dark rock that hung around her neck and weighed its significance. She’d felt strange since being back in Forks. She thought it was the anxiety of confronting her home in light of her father’s death, but maybe it was deeper than that. Maybe she was being pulled here for a different reason. She knew the legend of the wolf warriors very well--her father had recounted story after story of her ancestors who were known wolf warriors and how her father admired their strength and pride in their people and their purpose. 

Whatever it was that pulled her here, it was the people who would anchor her. At the end of the meeting, as Billy regaled them with more legends, council business, and community projects, she noticed that he turned to Sam, Paul, and Jared. They clustered around him and spoke in low tones. 

“What’s that about?” Grace nodded toward them, directing her question at Jake and Embry. 

“Weird secret council shit. Sam and his disciples at it again,” Embry said in a voice that edged with worry. 

“Disciples?” Grace raised an eyebrow. She turned to look at Jake who had a burning, agitated look on his face. 

“They’re like a cult. The elders bend to their every whim and they’re basically in charge of what happens around here when it comes to the day to day. Those community projects dad talked about? Their Sam’s ideas.” Jake seethed. 

“They sound like they’re meant to make the area safer, no? He’s watching out for the younger ones and trying to keep our community from being overrun by outside threats.” Grace offered. Some of the community projects Billy had mentioned were specifically targeted at creating a watchdog crew and curfew to ensure that kids in La Push weren’t being pulled by drug dealers off the rez or getting them into trouble. 

“It’s not. He just wants to be in control and he uses intimidation to get what he wants. Embry, Quil, and I were just walking around one day and they chased us off the beach for no reason. They’re bullies.” Jake concluded darkly. 

Grace watched Sam with a discerning eye, trying to understand what Jacob had said. Sam’s eyes carried over away from Billy and laid on Grace. They stared at each other for a long time, a hard, intense stare that Grace refused to waver from. Was this what Jake had been talking about? Was Sam trying to get her to yield? Grace straightened in her sitting position and tilted her head to the side a little, letting her eyes convey calm determination. She folded her hands in front of her and held Sam’s stare. Jacob and Embry noticed and began to squirm uncomfortably. Even when Jacob nudged Grace and said “Let’s go, he’s creeping me out.” She never broke his gaze as she affirmed and stood up. 

During their silent communication, two things became clear to Grace: she was meant to be here and Sam knew why. 

Jacob casually grabbed Grace’s hand, almost as a reflex now and nodded to Quil and Embry who brought up the rear, blocking Sam’s view of Grace. They headed back toward the treeline and skirted the edge of it back toward Jacob’s house instead of cutting through the dark woods this time. 

A light rain began to fall and Grace clutched the stone of her necklace. 

  
  



	6. Study-hard

It had been a couple of weeks since the tribal gathering, but Grace had been slammed with finals prep before the winter break. There was at least one downside to stacking all of those AP classes and that was the massive amount of work it took to pass her finals and finish her term papers in time. 

Jacob had tried to call her a few times over the first week, but she had been so swamped that she had had to decline the calls that Charlie had answered while she was hunkered down in her bedroom sifting through notes and furiously typing on the desktop. Bella was making her way through a load of work she hadn’t gotten to since the incident, but she was by no means rushing. All of the air had gone out from her, and in her deflated state, school work was the last of her worries. She’d been putting in more hours at Newton’s store lately, probably to stay out of the house and out from under Charlie’s worried stare. 

Grace pulled Bella into her study circle so they could bounce productively off one another and they spent most days after school in the library or upstairs in their room together. 

Two weeks after the tribal council meeting, Charlie knocked on their partially opened bedroom door, holding the cordless phone in his hand with a sigh. It was Sunday night and Grace was in the study zone. She glanced up quickly before turning her eyes back to the computer. Her hair was held up by a single pencil in a loose, curled bun. She was wearing wide black framed glasses and a dark green Westmoore High sweatshirt and thick white sweatpants. She had layered the necklace elder Ti’hal had given her the night of the tribal council meeting so that it ringed three strands around her neck and held the black stone just at her collarbone. Jacob’s bracelet was wrapped firmly around her wrist and she played with the loose ends every now and then. 

“Tell him I’ll call him back,” she said softly, pouring over a textbook next to her. Charlie held the receiver to his ear. 

“Jake, she-” he paused for a minute, “Alright, hold on.” he turned back to Grace, “He says you said that last time and the time before that and the time before that. He’s not taking no for an answer.” 

Grace sighed, irritated and held her hand out. Charlie stepped forward and handed it over with a sigh of relief. 

“No.” Grace said into the receiver. Charlie did a double take and turned to look at her. She held the phone back out to Charlie. She could hear loud protesting from Jake and stifled a giggle. She wasn’t trying to make him mad or stress him out, but at this moment, school came first. 

Grace shook the receiver at Charlie who grabbed it back with a grumble and held the phone to his ear. In the background, Bella let out a chuckle. Charlie’s eyes lit up with surprise at the tinkling sound coming from Bella. She shook her head smiling and turned back to her work. 

“Yeah, Jake, no. She’ll have to call you back.” Charlie said over the protest. “It’s finals Jake, they’ll be done in a week. Okay, okay. Yeah, okay.” Charlie trailed off down the hallway trying to talk Jake down and Grace fell back into her work. She could hear a muffled conversation going on downstairs for the next couple of minutes but paid no mind. 

The next few days it was quiet from Jacob. Maybe he had gotten the message finally. She was enjoying spending some time with Bella. While she wasn’t her normal self by any means, her quiet company was comforting to Grace and allowed her to focus.

On Wednesday, Bella skipped out early on their study session for her shift at Newton’s, leaving Grace on her own to study under the warm glow of her desk lamp. She put her over ear headphones on and listened to her tried and true study playlist, making headway. She lost all track of time but the early descending darkness was deceiving. It must have been no later than 7pm, but the sky made it look like it was midnight. 

It was then that Grace was startled and let out a gasp as she saw a hoodie-clad Jake climbing clumsily through her window and knocking over the huge stack of books on her nightstand. He was already through the window and standing up when Grace hurriedly whispered “Jake what the hell!” 

“Grace?” Charlie called from downstairs. Always the in-tune police chief. 

“I’m fine! Just knocked over some books.” She called out her door before quietly shutting it. While this was still just Jacob, she was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to be climbing through her window on a school night in the pitch black. 

“Sorry,” Jake whispered with a jerking shrug of his shoulders. He bent to scoop up the books with his broad hands and placed them haphazardly back on her nightstand. He turned to look at her and her face was still one of shock, mouth hanging open, speechless. 

“What was I supposed to do?! You haven’t been returning my calls, you haven’t been down to the rez-” Jacob said hurriedly above a whisper. 

“SHHH!” Grace’s eyes widened as she rushed up to him and clamped a small hand over his mouth. His skin was extraordinarily warm. Had he gotten taller? He was a good half a foot taller than her at her admirable 5’8”, but still. Even the cut of his jaw felt stronger. She blushed ever so slightly. 

“Do you want me to get in trouble? I’m like 1000% sure you’re not supposed to be in here right now.” She looked at him expectantly to answer, but realized after he raised his eyebrows and pointed at his still covered mouth that he couldn’t. She lowered her hand but had it at the ready. 

“I’m sorry, I was just worried and it’s Charlie. He’s not going to care.” Jacob whispered. 

“Okay, there’s a big difference between Jacob, downstairs, in the light of day, and a boy with mysterious motives in my bedroom at night behind a closed door,” Grace hissed. 

“To be fair, you closed the door,” Jacob countered. Grace groaned. 

“Jacob!” 

“What does he think we’re going to do!?” Jacob shot back. A tense, awkward silence fell between them and all at once Grace didn’t want to answer that question. She blushed profusely and saw a little color rise to Jacob’s face as well. She took a step back from him and returned to her chair. 

“Jacob, you should go. I really am studying. I have two term papers due this Friday, an exam tomorrow, and three more next week. Then I’m done and we can hang out over winter break. I promise.” She pulled her leg up under her and propped herself up over her books. Jacob sunk to her bed and leaned back against it, discarding his shoes. “Okay, that’s the opposite of leaving.” 

“We can hang out now, I won’t bother you, I’ll just read one of these intensely thick books and stay quiet and you can just...do your thing.” He shrugged and grabbed “A Picture of Dorian Gray” from the stack and cracked it open. Grace let out a huff and turned back to her work. 

He kept his word. For the next hour as Grace meticulously wrote out additional flash cards and flipped through notes and highlighted extra snippets of information, he stayed quiet. His soft breathing became her background and she relied on it’s even, steady rhythm to guide her. She felt warm. She felt happy. 

After the hour, she gathered her flashcards up and climbed out of her chair and onto the end of the bed pushing Jake’s legs aside. 

“Okay, quiz me.” she set the flash cards before him and he sat up eager to please, pulling the cards toward him and discarding the book. 

“Okay, Grace Study-hard Alo-”

“Not my middle name, but okay,” she interjected. 

“Let’s see what you got.” He cleared his throat and Grace laughed. “What was the Enlightenment?” His voice took on the lilt of poorly practiced game show host. 

“The rebirth of intellectual thought and philosophy and it complemented the Scientific Revolution that focused on the hard sciences.” 

“Very good, extra credit.” 

“ That’s not-”

“Next question! How were the works of Ancient Greece and Rome preserved?” 

“Monks made dedicated copies that they created by hand. However, in hand copying, there could be altering of ideas, thoughts, and practices.” 

“That would suck to have to write that all by hand.”

“Jake,” Grace protested. 

“Okay okay!” he cleared his throat again. 

As they worked through the entirety of her flashcards, Jake cracked jokes that made Grace peal with laughter despite her best efforts to stay serious. She got most of them right and once they finished, Jacob gave out an exaggerated breath of exhaustion and flopped back onto the bed. Grace sat up next to him at the top of her bed, while he relaxed on her pillows, one arm up under his head. He peered up at her as she worked her way through the cards she didn’t remember and made some edits. 

“How do you remember all this stuff?” Jacob asked curiously. At this point Charlie had probably gone to bed and Bella would be home soon. Grace wasn’t worried about speaking in a whisper now. 

She shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just weird information that gets stuck there. It’s on a need to know basis, I guess. And I need to know this stuff right now, so it just stays there.” 

“You’re gonna do great,” Jacob said, yawning some and letting his eyes close. Grace yawned in return and slumped down a little on her bed next to him so that she was half sitting, half laying down. 

Grace spoke under breath, quizzing herself as Jacob’s even breath slowed. Grace hadn’t realized that she too fell asleep until low light creeped through her window in the early morning hours. She stirred some and realized her desk lamp had been turned off. She looked over at Bella’s bed and saw her sleeping there peacefully, for once. When Grace turned over, she softly gasped as she came face to face with Jacob’s sleeping form. 

He was facing her, an arm draped over her waist and a slice of black hair fell over his sleeping face. As he exhaled softly, she could see his lips parted ever so slightly. She felt a squeeze in her heart as she brushed the swath of hair away from his face. Grace let herself stare at him peaceful like this for just a moment longer before she sat up and gently shook his shoulder. 

“Jake...Jake wake up,” he groaned softly and pulled at her waist trying to bring her back down and press her to him but she pried his hand off from around her and shook him harder. “Jake wake up. We fell asleep, Billy’s probably worried sick about you.” 

Jacob’s dark eyes opened, and Grace didn’t think she’d ever seen anything so beautiful before in her life. “Grace?” he yawned. “What time is it?” 

“It’s like 5:30 in the morning. You should go.” She shot a look over to Bella’s stirring form. 

“Okay.” he whispered back and slowly hauled himself from her bed and put on his boots. 

“You’re not climbing back out the window, come on.” Once he was upright, she crawled out of her bed, took his hand and guided him to the door. She cracked it open and peered out and around to check that the coast was clear. Jacob stood half awake behind her, but was seemingly awake enough to interlace his fingers with her, a way of bringing her closer. She gently pulled him out into hall once she was satisfied with the silence and padded softly down the stairs and to the front the door. When she pulled it open, the cold air rushed over her and Jacob quickly perked up, he crossed the threshold still holding her hand and let it go only at the last moment when he said, 

“Good luck on your test today. I’ll see you soon?” He gave her a soft, teasing smile. 

“Yes, very soon, I promise. But Jacob, you can’t sleep over like that again, we’re gonna get in trouble.” Grace warned, crossing her arms tightly in front of her to keep warm. 

Jake let out a guffaw nodded, and stepped toward her, taking her off guard before quickly kissing the top of her head. Before she realized what had happened, he was jogging down the front steps and off toward the Rabbit. Grace stood planted in place, glued to the spot by the effortless affection bestowed upon her. What was that? Jacob was her best friend, but did this mean something different? 

Suddenly, she was overcome with exhaustion and closed the door quietly before bolting quietly up to her room and under the covers. The sheets still held onto his soft, warm, scent that was a mix of fir trees, spice, and crisp sea air. She fell asleep, crushing the pillow he had slept on to her and woke up an hour later to bright sunshine. When she sat up and felt the bed around her, it dawned on her that she had had a boy in her bed. Not just any boy, but Jacob Black. She put her face in her hands and shook her head back and forth, not sure how to feel. 

Bella was up, but hadn’t crawled out of bed and was peering out at the sun with eyes clouded in gloom. Sunny days were two parts hard, one part easy for Bella. It was the most realistic day that she would have spent without Edward normally and that brought her comfort. But on the other hand it only accentuated his absence. 

“Bella?” Grace called from her bed. Bella slowly turned to her and gave her a smile. 

“Was Jake here last night?” she asked nonchalantly as if she had a boy in her room at night all the time like it was no big deal. 

“Uh, yeah.” Grace squirmed, “He barged in and then stayed to help me study and we kind of fell asleep.” Bella just nodded her head appreciatively and got up to go to the bathroom. Before she left the room, Grace said hurriedly: 

“Don’t tell Charlie.” 

“Of course.” Bella confirmed as if this was the most obvious answer in the world. 


	7. Recast

**December**

With the last week of finals completed, Grace hurtled toward winter break. She was exhausted after the constant studying but thought she faired pretty well. After the night with Jacob, she had been more proactive about inviting him around, studying down in the living room and letting Charlie kick him out when it got close to bed. 

Grace was somehow able to drag Bella out to Port Angeles for some last minute Christmas shopping. She was surprised Bella had agreed, but then realized that she had just gone and saw a movie with Jessica (questionable choice of first friend after a breakup) and it seemed pretty successful. She was waking up a little. 

As they strode arm and arm down the streets of Port Angeles and popped in and out of shops looking for the perfect gift for Charlie (they’d settled eventually on a new fishing pole and tackle box, equipped with the finest lures Port Angeles had to offer), Bella broke into more serious conversation. 

“So, what’s going on with you and Jake?” 

“What do you mean?” Grace asked, genuinely curious and taking a sip of her chai tea. 

“You know what I mean,” Bella pressed, “He’s always around, he slept over, he calls you all the time. He seems smitten.” 

“We’re just friends,” Grace said simply, and when she looked over at Bella, her eyebrows raised in doubt, Grace more forcefully stated, “Honestly! He’s becoming my best friend, but that’s it. He’s getting me back onto the rez slowly and just looking after me because Billy asked.” 

“Okay, so do you only see him as a friend or is it mutual? Because Jake definitely likes you.” Bella offered. Grace hesitated, trying to be careful with her words. 

“It’s not like that. I can’t explain it but it’s something different. Of course I like him,” Bella mocked a look of shock and awe and Grace laughed bumping into her lightly, “No I mean, you have to like someone to want to be around them all the time. But it’s different with Jake. You just feel completely natural, completely safe. It’s like a magnet. It’s easy to be with him. But truly, it’s just a friendship.”

“So the sleeping over thing was a fluke?” 

“I don’t know,” Grace admitted looking up at the sky. “That felt different than any other interaction. Every moment with Jake feels brand new, so it’s hard to piece together what it all means at the moment. But the great thing about that is that I don’t need to know right now. We’re good just like this. Simple.” 

“Simple.” Bella echoed, a sadness pulling at her voice. 

“Come on” Grace bucked her and threw her a smile to keep her up, “Let’s head to the bookstore real quick, I have one last gift and then we can go.” 

**January**

Winter break had come and went and with the solace and cold, came a lot of thinking. Grace thought constantly about her conversation with Bella regarding Jake. What was it exactly? She couldn’t really define the relationship, it felt tenuous but strong. Affectionate but friendly. Slow going but hot to the touch. 

Hanging out with Jake didn’t really clear anything up for her. They were the same old friendly, comfortable, boisterous pair. She’d hang out with him in the garage while he tuned up the Rabbit and when it got too cold he’d take her inside and plop her on their tiny loveseat with hot cocoa and cheesy action movies. Sometimes Quil and Embry would appear and they’d venture into the woods or to the tiny mainstreet to get a snack, but most often it was just Jake and Grace. 

Once school picked back up, Grace felt that ache and pull grow more when she was away from Jake for extended periods of time. This was even more confusing. 

Then, one day when she picked up the receiver after school, and stated clearly “Jake.” she was bemused to hear a low rumbling laugh on the other end that said “Not quite.” 

“Billy, hi,” Grace recognized him immediately. 

“Listen, I know you’ve been coming out to the rez a lot more, so I was wondering if you would do me a favor and run an errand for me.”

Grace raised an eyebrow. “Me? Why?” Why not ask Jake? She wondered. 

As if in answer to her unspoken question, Billy replied, “Jacob’s a little adverse to running errands for me, especially when they involve Sam Uley.” 

Grace’s breath hitched in her throat. She’d seen Sam milling about a bit on the odd occasion they frequented the little downtown street on the rez. Each time it had filled her with a feeling that she could only describe as hunger, but not physical hunger, like an itching desire to turn over a rock just to see what was hiding underneath. She felt a visceral connection to Sam Uley without ever knowing him--it felt like a taut thread that ran from her middle and connected to him. Whenever they made eye contact, the thread twanged painfully and tugged at her insides, begging her to move forward, but she resisted. To this, the thread vibrated uncomfortably and Grace would quickly try to duck behind Jacob or change direction to gain some distance. 

“Uh, I mean, I’m not sure how much help I can be on that front, but what do you need?” The hunger spoke for her. 

“Just a box of old council written histories. He’s been meaning to come by and grab it but has been,” he paused, “A little busy. Would you mind next time you’re out this way coming to grab it and swing it by his and Emily’s place for me?”

“Sure, I’m doing a pickup for the Wilo’s tomorrow afternoon, I’ll come by then, yeah?” Who was this person that was so willingly agreeing to an errand that would possibly bring her within spitting distance of Sam? 

“Sounds good, thanks Grace, hach tochoktiya.” he hung up and Grace held the receiver to her ear for a little while after the phone had been disconnected. 

_ Sam Uley, huh?  _

* * *

After dropping Bella off at work, Grace had coasted down to the rez and completed her grocery run for the Wilo’s. After waving and hopping back into her truck and heading toward Billy’s house, she suddenly felt her palms go sweaty. 

At least she’d get to see Jake. 

When she got to his house and popped out of the truck, she thought she’d look up to see Jake jogging around the side of the house, beaming, but he was nowhere to be seen. Confused, she shoved her hands in her pockets and walked up to the house knocking on the door. Billy pulled the door open and maneuvered aside to let her in. 

“Where’s Jake?” Grace asked casually. 

“Out with Quil and Embry, I think.” Billy brushed off the question and wheeled to the table to put his hand on the top of the box. “This is what I need you to take to Sam’s. And here’s the address,” he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it Grace. 

“Right, yeah,” Grace said inspecting the paper. “Down, close to La Push beach?” 

“You got it--better get moving before it gets too dark.” Billy prompted. Grace raised an eyebrow at him and headed out the door, picking up the lightweight box and out the door. 

As she pulled onto the lawn of the little bungalow tucked into the trees and facing the beach, a worrying pain shot through her. 

_ Time to get this over with. _

She grabbed the cardboard box from the passenger seat and shut the door with a loud bang. It must have alerted them inside because Emily, Sam’s fiance, peered out the gauzy curtains with a reassuring smile and tentative wave. 

Grace raised her hand and gave a short wave as she climbed the steps of the porch. Emily opened the door and greeted her warmly.

“Grace! So good to see you,” Emily gave her a one armed hug. 

“Aah, so Billy wanted me to bring this by,” Grace held out the cardboard box. As Emily took it from her hand, Sam appeared behind her in shorts and a sleeveless sweatshirt. A little light for January weather, no? 

“Grace.” Sam nodded matter of factly from the doorway. Grace felt her stomach lurch and she swallowed hard. She was going to face this head on at least. 

“Sam, good to see you,” she said. 

“Come in for a minute,” Sam replied, gesturing inside. Grace automatically took a step back down the porch. 

“Yes, please! I’ve just made some tea.” Emily reached her hand out to her as Same took the box from her. 

“I-I just had some errands to run and-”

“Come in.” Sam said a little more forceful and Grace felt an automatic need to obey. It was a feeling she was unfamiliar with and didn’t really like. 

As she crossed the threshold, she couldn’t help but feel comforted by the warmly decorated home. Familiar relics from the rez hung on the walls and it smelled like toasted bread. She sat down at the kitchen table that was in the center of the wide open room. Emily set some tea down in front of her and retreated behind the island in the kitchen to finish cutting some vegetables. 

“How are you doing?” Sam asked. 

“Uh, yeah good thanks.” Grace said dismissively looking around. Sam raised his eyebrows. 

“Have you gone to see elder Ti’Hal since the gathering?” 

“Was I supposed to?” Grace said, a little irritated. 

“No, just thought you would is all, considering what she gave you,” he gestured to her necklace. Grace automatically touched it. The low rumbling started in ears again, her feet vibrating. “You know what that is right?” She could feel her fingertips tingle and a searing hot wave worked its way down her throat and into her belly where Sam’s pull sat and squirmed. 

“Stop.” Thunder rattled outside and a cool wind started to blow through the trees. 

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Sam’s gaze was intense. Grace’s eyes, swimming in and out of focus, landed on Emily who had stopped chopping and was watching her carefully. 

“What do you mean?” Grace choked out. Her hand clutched around the dark stone of her necklace and she felt her body sway. She tried to stay focused, but the heat shot through her extremities and pooled in her feet and hands. She could feel it rising to the back of her head.

“You’ve been called here. And instead of meeting your fate, you’ve been running from it. Ignoring it. And now we’re here.” 

“Sam,” Emily’s small voice echoed in Grace’s head. “Is she alright?” Grace was turning bright red, sweat pouring from her face, and she started to gasp for air. 

“She’s fine.” Sam almost said it as a command. Grace didn’t want any of this. Whatever Sam was doing, she was not okay with it. She felt her body screaming from the inside out, it felt like her skin was being pulled apart like loose stringy dough. 

“No.” Grace managed to shout in between ragged breaths. Sam’s eyes narrowed. Emily stepped forward concerned. 

“You can’t run from this Grace.” Sam compelled her. Suddenly, Grace was on her feet. The pull was becoming too much--whatever this was, she wanted no part in it. 

The chair clattered to the floor behind her and she clutched her side as she stumbled backwards toward the door. Sam was on his feet immediately. 

“Grace stop!” he commanded. Grace felt that familiar, but unwanted pull in her stomach, and angrily pulled back against it. She wouldn’t be tamed by whatever this was. Her feet hesitated for a moment but then she turned and stumbled quickly toward the door. Sam was after her but by the time her foot reached porch steps, she felt her entire body tear apart. The world wavered in front of her and then she was gone and everything went black. 

Sam crossed the threshold and looked around frantically. She was gone. The thunder rolled over the sea and Emily’s windchimes tinkled behind him. Bewildered, Sam jumped off the porch and looked around the clearing. There was no sign of her. 

One moment she was there, and the next she wasn’t. And then, her eyes fluttered open. She was on the forest floor staring up the light shimmering down through the trees. For a moment her focus went in and out and then she noticed chirping above her. A small wisp of smoke unfurled around her and she heard a faint humming and shuffling. Only then did she realize she was covered with a blanket. 

Grace stirred from her place on the forest floor and lifted herself up onto her elbows to look around. Her head felt cracked in two. When she looked around her, she saw the hunched form of elder Ti’Hal. She was burning a bushel of fir and herbs that she had tied tightly together over the small fire that she had built. She was humming to herself and didn’t pay Grace any mind. 

“What happened?” Grace croaked. Ti’Hal took her time turning to look at her from her spot by the fire. 

“You recast.” Ti’Hal said calmly. 

“What?” she was groggy and thought that maybe her words were altering in her head. Ti’Hal was by her side in a moment and Grace couldn’t quite fathom how the old woman could move so quickly. 

“Recast, you altered your place on this plane and reoriented in a new space. It’s a state of being that until now was buried deep in your blood, and it triggered when you confronted those you are meant to protect.” Ti’Hal stated this with such clarity that it rang clear as a bell in Grace’s mind. A crushing sense of understanding bloomed in her and the uncomfortable pull she had felt before in Sam’s presence unwound itself in relief and bloomed into recognition. 

All at once she felt at ease, but her mind still stumbled with confusion. 

“Who I’m meant to protect?! What do you mean, Ti’Hal? Why am I here?” Grace was still slurring a little bit and Ti’Hal placed a cool hand to her forehead to push her gently back to the earth. Grace felt the embrace of the forest floor around her. 

Ti’Hal clucked and shooshed her as she began humming again. Grace stayed prone trying to regain her thoughts. Her whole body felt scrambled. She couldn’t remember how she got here and the last thing she remembered was feeling like she was being pulled apart as her blood boiled. 

Sam had done this somehow, and Billy had orchestrated it. Grace felt so stupid that she had fallen for such an easy trap. But what still didn’t make sense was why she was lured into a trap in the first place. Billy never meant her any harm. But Sam had spoken about fate and avoiding her place here. What had he meant exactly? She felt her body vibrate again and panicked. 

Ti’Hal raised an eyebrow and scanned Grace’s body with her eyes. “You need to calm yourself. Bring your awareness to your fingers and toes, grab hold of your shaking veins between your fists and hold it there. Breath into your belly and pull down into the ground. Stay focused on the light around you.” Ti’Hal coached calmly as she held onto Grace’s clenched fist. 

The vibrations dissipated and Grace felt clearer this time. 

“What did Sam do to me?!”

“It’s not young Uley’s fault, dear. But it is your destiny. You are blessed with the ability to recast between this world and the next. You are tied to the wolf warriors as their protector, their shield. You are the spirit bird, Alo.” 

* * *

_ Hi! You’ve reached Charlie, Bella, and Grace. We’re not home right now, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. If this is a police matter, please call the station.  _

_ Thanks! Talk to you soon.  _

“Grace?” Pause. “It’s Jake. Where have you been? I haven’t been able to get a hold of you for like two weeks now. You’re not at school, you’re not with Bella, you’re not at home. I’m getting really worried. Can you call me back? I just-” Pause. “I’ve heard that you’ve been hanging out with Sam and his cult lately. I don’t believe it and Billy said I should just leave it alone but-” Pause. Sigh. “Listen, just call me when you get a chance. Whether you’re mad at me or you don’t want to hang out anymore, I just-” 

The voicemail tape cut off as Bella picked up the receiver. 

“Jake?” 


	8. Push and Pull

**February**

“Again!” a booming voice echoed somewhere in the trees. Grace tried to focus clearly on the sound, tuning out the high pitched birdsong, crashing sound of leaves rustling against one another, the boom of a pack of deer nearby scattering, the overwhelming thud and drag of the waves just off the cliff, and each tiny pinprick of insect feet crawling in and around the dirt for miles. 

When her senses were tuned in like this, it became hard to block everything else out. Every sound was dialed up to eleven and she would feel her heart start to race as her ears tried to pick up the one sound she was meant to find. 

Searching for a pulse was out, there was too much life around her. So she switched her mindset, she tried to listen for the distinct breath of the wolves. Their human breath trying to mingle with the intense, aggressive huffing of their wolf breath that was simultaneously trying to smell, breath, and cool. She could hear that sound and then she tried to envision the wolf behind it. 

Once she made out the shape of Paul’s wolf form down to his shoulders outlining around her through the trees, she opened her eyes and felt that familiar pull--a feeling that she had come to know very well over the past 6 weeks. 

Grace’s life had taken a unique turn after she had ended up in the woods with Ti’Hal unexpectedly after visiting Sam’s. Elder Ti’Hal had told her she was the spirit bird. While Grace wasn’t exactly sure what she had meant at the time, something inside her had clicked into place. Ti’Hal had advised her, no rather begged her, not to avoid Sam any longer and let the pull of whatever was happening to spill through her. She promised that Grace would feel so much better. 

And she did. Surprisingly, once she stopped avoiding the pull of Sam, the reservation, and her people, the old anxiety and tugging in her ceased. She was filled with warmth and felt the most secure she’d ever felt since her father died. Around Sam especially. 

After she had returned to Sam’s. She had nodded in acknowledgement as she crossed the threshold of the home and sunk back into the chair at the kitchen table exhausted. 

“So, what now?” she had asked. Sam had given her a knowing smile and took her into the forest. It was there that he revealed to her his wolf form and had called out to Jared and Paul to join him. Grace would have been overwhelmed at the sight of this had she not just recast her body through the woods and been washed with immense understanding that something deeper, the legends, the histories, all of it, ran through her and them. 

She had taken a moment to admire their form before looking at Sam expectantly. He had hesitated for a moment, seeming to look around at his brothers before taking a step forward and towering over her. Grace had stumbled back in a fleeting moment of sheer panic by the meer size of him. But to this, Sam just stood tall looking down at her, his eyes intent on something. 

And then, she heard a faint echo at the back of her head. A voice. Sam’s voice, but it was too hard to hear. She turned around expecting to see him behind her even though she knew he was in front of her. Sam shook out his body as if squaring up to concentrate and tried again. 

This time the voice had been louder, but still far away. 

“Sam?” Grace said out loud, her face screwed up in confusion. Sam seemed to acknowledge something. “Wait, say that again.” Grace said, staring at him. She tried to focus on the sound of the voice, far away as it was, she could feel herself seeking it out, like running down paths in a dense wood, with precarious twists and turns, she looked for the voice that was somewhere out there, but also in her. She shook her head in frustration. 

“Again.” She said in a small, unsure voice. 

Paul and Jared walked up to flank Sam, seeming to join him. The voice grew, but only marginally so. She could hear a faint echo of his voice now in different tenors ringing out. But when she chased it, they scattered like fireflies pushing out and away from her. 

She exhaled without realizing she had been holding her breath. Sam took another step toward her. She felt reassured this time rather than intimidated by his form and nodded at him in confirmation. 

“Again.” she said clearer this time. 

Now standing in the forest, feeling her body pull and crush around her, she tried to focus on sound again, but this time it wasn’t voices. She was trying to sense where they were without them having to actively call out to her. 

After six weeks of what Grace could only describe as training, she was able to clearly hear Sam’s voice, even if it did seem muffled sometimes, and was able to faintly hear the echo of Jared and Paul’s voices in her head when they called out to her. 

Recasting felt like a warming of her blood. Something that felt natural but that took an exceeding amount of effort. Depending on the distance she went when she recast was how exhausted she felt afterwards. When she traveled a short distance, like from one side of the street to the other, it felt like nothing-- a quick blip. When she recast across stretches of forest, she was gasping for air like she’d just run a marathon. 

Sam and Ti’Hal had reassured her that it would just take practice, her stamina would build as she continued to train, and when she and Sam finally fell into step with one another, recasting would feel second nature. Grace had been wary of this, even though she desperately hoped it was true. 

When she felt her body dissipate around her, she focused on where the sound of the breathing was coming from. Hurtling toward it in her mind and then when she recast and reappeared she looked around her hurriedly. Paul was about half a mile away from her through a clearing in the trees she could see. She let out a groan and threw her head back. “Come on!” She had overshot her target by a half a mile. 

“Come back. Try it again,” Sam had said. He never grew tired or angry or frustrated with her while she did this. She was starting to suspect it was because he didn’t really know how to guide or help her tune into this power. Even Ti’Hal was only able to offer theoretical perspectives of how to master this. 

Grace envisioned her starting point and recast. She reappeared down the hill leading up to the cliff face. 

As she attempted and again and again, she got gradually closer to Paul as he changed locations in the forest each time. But as she continued, she got more and more tired until finally, when Sam called her back to her starting position, she lost focus, and overshot the cliff, recasting a quarter of a mile out into open water. As she fell from the height of her anticipated starting point into the water, she loudly cursed before twisting her body midair to land in the water without hurting herself. Unintentional cliff diving was not the goal and she was really hoping not to get soaking wet today. 

When she surfaced, she looked up to the cliff face and saw Sam standing, arms by his side. With a huge crash to his left, she saw Jared’s human form surface and make his way toward her. 

When Jared approached her with a broad smile, she rolled her eyes. 

“He said we’re done for the day.” Jared commented as Grace wrapped her hands around his neck, resting on his back and kicking her legs to help propel them through the water. 

“Finally.” Grace breathed defeated. 

“You’ll get the hang of it, don’t worry.” Jared reassured her. 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“Just relax. I got this.” he swam with earnest now and Grace wallowed in her defeat. 

* * *

When she got home, Grace could barely keep her eyes open. Paul had dropped her off since she didn’t have the truck. Grace didn’t think it was fair to hog the truck since she was down at the reservation nearly every day for hours. 

“Is that you?” Charlie called from the living room. 

“Yeah,” Grace said. 

“Picked up some dinner. Bella’s not back yet. It’s on the counter if you’re hungry.” Charlie replied. Grace sighed in relief. 

Bella not being home these days was common. Between working at Newton’s and school, she made herself pretty scarce. While Grace was like the walking dead at home, she did have enough observation left in her to see that Bella had really perked up. She seemed happier, brighter. Maybe she was finally getting over Edward. This filled Grace with relief but she still missed seeing her regularly. 

Bella would usually creep back home late after Grace had gone to bed. She had no idea how she was keeping up on her schoolwork, but whatever she was doing was working and Grace was happy for her. 

Grace also noticed that Jake had stopped trying to get into contact with her. For this she was somewhat grateful. She didn’t know how to explain what was happening to her but also what might be happening to him. Sam had told her that it was inevitable that more of the tribe would begin to phase, but he just didn’t know how many or when. With vampires still making their way in and around Forks, it didn’t seem like it would ever stop. And Grace felt this immense pressure to protect them all. 

* * *

When Grace collapsed into her seat at their shared lunch table with their group of friends, they looked at her expectantly. It took her a minute and she looked at each pair of eyes staring back at her. 

“What?” she said confused. 

“Hey.” Bella said. Grace hadn’t realized that Bella had been sitting in the chair a couple of spaces down from her. 

“Oh hey!” This was a surprise. Bella hadn’t sat with them in months--not since the incident. Grace had tried and failed multiple times to sit with her in an isolated table by the windows, not wanting her to be alone in her grief, but every time, Bella had asked her to leave. After the tenth time, Grace would sit at the table with Angela, Jessica, and the others and glance over at Bella now and then. So Bella sitting with them now was a huge step and the group was looking to Grace for a clue as to why, but Grace decided she was just going to act normal. 

“Did you get that paper back from McCarty today in AP Lit?” Grace asked Bella nonchalantly. She could see relief wash over Bella’s face as she responded back. 

“No, not yet. He said tomorrow.” To this everyone descended back into conversation, excitedly asking Bella questions and talking amongst themselves as normal. Halfway through lunch, Grace was startled then when Bella looked around the group and said: 

“Hey, did you guys want to go see a Face Punch?” a pained look on her face subsided when everyone agreed, “Grace?” Bella asked her pointedly. Grace hesitated. 

“Oh yeah, I mean sure! Sounds good.” She smiled. A night off might be nice, away from the monsters and the myths. 

Bella nodded and smiled at her, grateful. 

* * *

Bella clipped her phone shut as Grace pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater in Port Angeles. 

“Who was that?” Grace asked. 

“Angela. She has the stomach flu and Eric’s staying to take care of her.” 

“Oh no, that sucks.” Grace said. “That makes just us three then, right? Because Jessica and Rachel bailed too, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Bella said dismissively as she hopped down from the truck. 

“Does Mike still have a thing for you?” Grace teased, bumping playfully into Bella as they rounded the corner to the theater. 

“I hope not.” Bella breathed. She looked up from the pavement and her eyes lit up.  _ Happy _ , Grace thought. She smiled at her happiness, not looking ahead to what made her react so. 

“Hey!” Bella called out with a smile, “Jake!” 

Grace froze. Her gaze shot from Bella to the towering form at the end of the sidewalk, standing off to the side of the ticket window. 

Bella practically launched herself into his arms and he caught her, closing his eyes and smiling, his broad hands wrapping around her and holding her tightly. Grace slowly walked up to the pair, feeling bristled for a reason she couldn’t pinpoint. Jacob looked over Bella, in fact he was even taller than the last time Grace saw him, so much so that almost knocked her breath from her. 

A different look colored Jake’s face, one that made Grace almost stumble in surprise. He looked disappointed to see her. Pain pulsed in her stomach and she tried to pull her grimace into a grin. 

“Hey.” Grace said quietly, her hands shoved in her jacket pocket. He gave her a curt nod and said: 

“Hey, long time no see.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that, I’ve been-”

“Busy. Yeah, I got it.” Jacob cut her off. This hurt way more than Grace was expecting. 

“Come on, there’s Mike.” Bella gestured to them both, trying to ease the tension. Grace felt irritated all at once at Bella. Irritated that she didn’t tell her Jake would be here, and irritated that she seemed to be so close to Jake now when before they were just distant childhood acquaintances. What was this? 

Jacob turned and followed Bella quickly, leaving Grace standing on her own on the curb. Grace tilted her head back and groaned softly at the sky before walking reluctantly forward. 

So much for her night off. 

When they approached Mike, Bella caught him and Jacob up to speed with the recent change to their party. 

“So, I guess it’s just us.” Bella shrugged. 

“Great!” Mike said. The look on his face screamed double date. This made Jacob shift uncomfortably and Grace try to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. 

Once they got the tickets and headed inside the theater with their popcorn, the awkward tussle of who sat where began. After much shuffling and Bella switching spots multiple times at the request of Mike, then Jacob, then Mike again, Bella settled on a spot in between Mike and Jacob. At the prompting of Bella, Grace reluctantly sat in the seat next to Jacob. He immediately tried to shift his massive, broad frame away from her and leaned toward Bella’s seat. The pain in Grace’s stomach grew and she fought back an immense sense of sadness rising in her. 

At one point during the movie, Grace, who couldn’t help her eyes from moving to Jacob’s face every 10 minutes, saw that his hand was awkwardly placed on the arm rest next to Bella, with the palm facing up. 

Was he hoping Bella would hold his hand? A new realization dawned on her. 

_ Were they a thing? Were they dating? When did this happen? How did this happen?!  _

The questions rose in volume in her head and her face got hot. Why did she even care? She didn’t want to answer that question posed to no one. 

She did a double take and saw that Mike was trying to shoot his shot as well with his hand in the exact same position. Grace rolled her eyes and sunk down into her seat crossing her arms. At least it seemed that Bella wasn’t having any of it. She had gone as far as to sit on both of her hands to avoid any accidental hand grazing. Grace couldn’t wait for the movie to end. 

During one of the intense final action scenes of the movie, Mike sprang up and ran from the theater. Jacob chuckled and settled back into his seat, but Bella got up to go after him and make sure he was okay. Jacob, not pleased with this development, glanced back once at Grace with little to no emotion she could perceive and got up and went after Bella. 

Grace hesitated to follow. Was she going to be the girl that followed the guy who followed the other girl out of a dark movie theater? She sat for five minutes and then huffed. Yes, yes she was. 

When she made it to the hallway she didn’t see any of them around. Shoving her hands into her jacket pocket, she quietly walked down the empty movie theater hall until she heard Jacob and Bella’s voices around the corner. She paused. They were having a quiet, seemingly intimate conversation. Grace looked behind her and took one step forward, not meaning to eavesdrop but not able to tear herself away. The familiar tug was pulling her forward and she decided to listen to it this time. 

She could just catch the end of Jacob’s sentence: “...hold your hand?” 

“You’re about to ruin everything.” She heard Bella say in an almost half whisper. “And I don’t want to lose you.” 

So maybe they were together. Grace let her face fall. 

“Well, I got loads of time. And I’m not giving up.” Jacob replied. Bella took a minute to respond. 

“I don’t want you too. But it’s just because I don’t want you to go anywhere,” she choked out, “It’s selfish, I know, but….I’m not like a car that can be fixed up. I’m never gonna run right. So I should be fair to you.” 

“It’s because of him right?” Jacob said softly. Grace was surprised at that. “Look, I know what he did to you, but I would never, ever do that to you Bella. I promise. I won’t let you down.” 

There was a silence and then a small, whispered, “Jake.” 

Then, Mike Newton stumbled out of the bathroom behind Grace, blowing up her spot. 

“Hey are you okay? You look really sick,” Grace couldn’t help saying, announcing her presence. Jacob and Bella came out from around the corner, Bella seemingly wiping a tear from her eye and trying to look normal. Grace tried not to look at them. Jacob’s mouth was set in a hard line. 

“I think I need to go home.” He croaked. Jacob rolled his eyes and exhaled a frustrated breath. Mike looked at him aghast. 

“Dude what’s your problem?” Mike said. 

“You’re my problem.” Jacob measured him with a fierce stare. 

“What the hell?” Grace said her face screwed up in confusion. 

“Feeling sick?” Jacob jabbed. 

“Dude, stop.” Mike took a step back as Jacob walked toward him. 

“Maybe you should go to the hospital.” He shoved Mike a few steps back and to this Bella grabbed his upper arm and Grace threw herself between Mike and Jake. 

“Knock it off Jake!” Grace said. 

“Yeah, movie’s over Jake, come on,” Bella tried to tug at his arm but he wasn’t having it. 

“Do you want me to put you in the hospital?” Jake’s face looked different, the anger seeping through him was unfamiliar to his usually warm, and kind features. 

“Woah!” Bella stumbled forward as Jake tried to lunge for Mike again. Grace put a forceful hand on his chest and with almost all of her strength, sans power, she pushed him back a little. 

“Jake STOP!” Grace yelled now. 

“Jake, you’re like really hot,” Bella pulled her hand back and both Grace and Mike looked at her incredulously. Really? Was now the time? “No, I mean, like you’re burning up. Like you have a fever.” 

Jake didn’t respond and just looked down at Grace who still had her hand held up in front of Jake at chest height. 

“And you.” he seethed. Grace braced for it. She could see now what was happening. 

“Jacob, listen to me,” she tried to soothe. 

“You just disappear? Think you can just show back up and that I wouldn’t have noticed? What are you playing at huh?” 

“I’m not playing at anything Jake, I think you need to go home. I’ll come with you,” Grace took a step forward and reached for him but he grabbed her wrist, a little too hard if she was being honest. Mike took a weak step forward. 

“Don’t come near me,” he stated, resolute, painfully, almost cruel. Grace let out a little gasp as he squeezed her wrist as a warning and dropped her hand forcefully. Bella, wide eyed, had taken a step back, not sure how to intervene. Jacob turned and walked off, mumbling an apology to Bella as she passed. Grace cradled her red ringed wrist as she watched Jacob’s form disappear out the glass doors of the theater.

Everything in her was pulling her toward Jacob, but she refused to follow. This time, she wouldn’t listen. It hurt too much. 

  
  



	9. Recognition

It took all of Grace’s strength not to drive down to the rez once she and Bella got back to the truck. 

“What the hell was that?” Bella said surprised. Grace focused her eyes on the road. “Hey are you okay?” Bella was softer this time. 

“Are you and Jake dating?” 

“What?” Bella said, taken aback. 

Grace didn’t say anything and just kept her eyes focused on the road. That wasn’t the question she had meant to ask. She just couldn’t stop thinking about how hot Jacob’s skin was and how quickly she needed to get home to call Sam. Jerking the wheel, she pulled them off on the side of the road. Bella lurched forward to steady herself with the dashboard. 

“I need to borrow your phone.” Grace turned to Bella and held her hand out. 

“Okay.” Bella said, her voice drew up at the end in question, “Grace what is going on?” 

Bella handed her phone over and Grace punched in Sam’s number. 

It rang twice before he answered. “Hello?” 

“Sam. It’s Jake.” 

“Is he-” 

“Yes, he’s on his way back now. You might want to intercept.” 

“Was he hot to the touch?”

“Sam.” Grace pleaded. She was losing her composure a little bit. 

“Okay. We’ll get him, don’t worry.” He hung up. 

She handed the phone back to Bella and put a hand over her eyes to try and stop the tears. But it wasn’t any use, something in her collapsed and she curled her body over the steering wheel and let out an immense rush of sobs. Her back heaved as she gasped for breath and felt a breaking in her like one she’d only ever experienced once before. Bella hurriedly scooted over the bench seat of the truck and wrapped her arms around Grace. Bewildered, she stroked her cousin’s hair and tried to calm her down. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay Grace. He’ll come back.” Bella whispered into her hair. 

Grace knew he would come back, he would just come back different, changed. In her time spent training with Sam, Paul, and Jared she saw and heard the turmoil, pain, and confusion they put their bodies and minds through. While it ran through their blood, Sam had made it clear: this wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity. 

Paul had been less forthcoming about it. He had finally found a useful outlet for his anger, pushing it in the ground and howling it out around him in a chase of scrap. But in his quieter moments, when Grace would sit next to him after a particularly grueling day, he would wrap his arm around her shoulder and give her a small sad smile and say, “At least we’ve got us.” 

Jared was a light, joking and keeping Grace up on her feet. But some days when he showed up at Emily’s or they went to pick him up from home, he would look disappointed, his face would look redder than usual and he’d pull Grace or Emily into a tight, wordless hug before Sam commanded him to follow. To which he’d swallow hard and follow suit. 

And when Quil had recently phased, Sam did him the kindness of letting him choose when he could make it to trainings and when he could not. Mostly he could not--still focusing on school, figuring out his new form, and coming to grips with the fact that he was a protector of his family and tribe in ways he never knew before. Sam would pull him in for light rounds, not wanting to dip him in too far too fast like he had with Jared and Paul in his immense loneliness. 

But for all that pain came the joy of binding to one another. Grace could see how at home they felt together and around her. How safe and loved that their brotherhood kept them. She would protect that at all costs. 

But now that Jacob was a part of this, Grace knew something would fundamentally change, not just in him but in everyone. A part of her wished for the short time she had spent with him laughing and studying for school, and the moment he kissed her head on the doorstep like he’d done it his whole life. 

“Let me drive.” Bella said calmly, shifting Grace out of the way. The whole ride home, Grace rested her head on the cool glass of the window and resolved to go to the rez first thing tomorrow morning. 

* * *

When Grace woke early right as the first light was creeping over the horizon. She shimmied into some dark wash jeans, a black tank top and a large, loose green cable knit sweater. She shoved her socked feet into her boots and pulled her wavey tangled hair up into a loose ponytail. At the bottom of the stairs, she layered her blue raincoat under her puffy black winter jacket. The fog was not yet clearing as she dashed out the door and into the truck with only one thought in her mind. 

_ Jacob.  _

The 15 minute drive to the reservation was excruciating. She vowed to buy a cell phone this weekend so she could stay in contact with the pack. As she crossed the line into the reservation, a shiver ran down her. She felt warmth flood into her feet and a tingling sensation started to bloom in the back of her head, signaling a change had happened. 

She pulled into the familiar drive of Emily and Sam’s place as the fog started to burn off. She jogged to the front door and knocked a handful of times before pressing it open and hurtling in. Emily was stumbling down the steps of her and Sam’s bedroom, clearly woken from sleep. 

“Is Sam here?” Grace, wired, asked. 

“No, he hasn’t been home yet, come sit, I’ll make us some coffee,” she yawned. 

“It’s Jacob,” Grace said again, echoing her sentiment from last night. Emily nodded nonchalant. 

“Sam said he might be phasing soon. He could feel it,” Emily was clattering in the kitchen like it was any other morning. 

“What? He knew?!” She had told Sam how rocked she had felt about the potential of him phasing and he could feel her tension when it came to conversations of Jake. The pack seemed invested in him for some reason. But he had never alluded to any feeling he had had about Jacob phasing soon in their recent trainings. Emily looked at Grace confused, and then realized she had spilled something that maybe she wasn’t at liberty to share. 

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon Grace, come sit.” Emily pleaded. But Grace was already out the door and down into the truck. She gunned it toward Jacob’s house knowing full well he probably wouldn’t be there. 

When she pulled up, her mind took her back to when a long-haired Jacob came jogging around the side of the house, happy to see her. But now, the yard was quiet and the area surrounding it seemed void of those memories. 

When she knocked on the door, trying to wait patiently for Billy to open the door, she couldn’t help her eyes from scanning the tree line. 

By now, Sam must have sensed she was here. If they were still in their wolf forms, which she suspected they were by the familiar pull in her belly, she knew that Sam would have felt her as soon as she crossed onto the reservation.

Billy swung open the door and wheeled over the threshold with a smile on his face. 

“Wasn’t expecting you to be here.” he said, pleased. 

“Did Jake come home last night?” Grace forgoed with the pleasantries. Her mind was a one-track record at the moment playing the same name over in her head:  _ Jacob, Jacob, where is Jacob?  _

“Nooooo,” Billy replied, still pleased. It irked Grace. Of course he’d be pleased. Jake was fulfilling a destiny that Billy hadn’t or ever needed to. She could see the pride swelling in him. 

“Okay.” Grace gave a curt nod and turned back to her truck, then thought better of it and turned toward the tree line. She should have done this first thing, but a small part in her was hoping against hope that he had returned, safe and sound, without phasing. 

“I’m sure he’s alright, Grace! Sam’s got him.” Billy called after her. She gave a terse wave and pushed into the embrace of the trees. When she walked deep enough that she couldn’t see the clearing of Jacob’s home behind her, she stopped and closed her eyes taking a deep breath. 

The earth beneath her feet felt mangled and overturned. She tried to tune into her higher sense, focused her breath on locating the familiar padding of Sam, Jared, or Paul through the forest floor. The forest intensified in sound around her as she went searching, eyes closed, feet planted. Directly in front of her, she could clearly see the outline, almost glow of Sam’s prints. Flanking close behind were Jared and Paul’s, less pronounced but definitely there. 

Grace took a tentative, physical step forward and when she looked down, she could see sprinkles of light spilling out around her feet.  _ That’s new.  _

She opened her eyes and travelled further into the forest, keeping her ears tuned in for any sign of them. As she got deeper, the brush and fern growing thick under foot, she stopped again to make sure she was headed in the right direction. This time when she closed her eyes, a bright path skirted forward from unfamiliar pads. However, though they were new to her, they were brighter than either Sam, Jared, or Paul’s. The track was illuminated as if by bright glowing light underneath and shimmered in a deep gold. She knew who this was without having to feel it. 

And then, a familiar sensation, a breaking apart and coming together that she had not initiated. It was a call. She recast and without even knowing where she was going, she appeared in a small clearing. When she opened her eyes, the human forms of Sam, Jared, Paul, and Quil stood off to the right and somewhat behind her. Her eyes locked on Sam, breathless for a moment and then she felt a gaze pulling her forward. 

When she looked ahead, standing clear and tall in the patch of moss and dirt was Jacob. His chest exposed, she saw every line of his skin and his sinewy muscles heaved with exhaustion. His hair was sheared short to match the rest of the pack, but his warmth and presence radiated out from him. He stood firmly on the ground, fists clenched, but though he was obviously new to this and had had a rough night, Grace felt nothing but pure resolute power, confidence, and surety pulsing from him. 

When their eyes locked, Grace couldn’t breathe for a moment. That rising rumbling that she had felt when she first encountered Edward crescendoed around her. Waves crashing against each other, pushing and pulling out to sea. 

A huge ripple puddled out from her feet and pulsed quickly out across the forest floor like a radar signal. Her return to Jake’s call. Behind her, she heard Jared exclaim “What the hell was that?!” 

Jacob was looking at her so fiercely with such wanton recognition. The pull in her belly intensified in a way she had never felt before. The world was around her but ended with Jacob. And she made a choice. She sprinted toward him and crashed into his arms. 

He let out a groaning “Oh,” as he wrapped his arms tightly around her as if something in him was satiated when she was pressed against him. Her head only came up to his shoulder and he bowed his head to bury his face in her hair. 

All too quickly, a realization swept through the both of them— _ I know this person and this person knows me, now and before and beyond _ . Two kindred spirits that had always been intertwined by destiny but had recently come back together. Grace had never felt such pleasure and sureness rippling through her entire being than she did right now. And as a welcomed confirmation, Jake whispered in her ear between heavy labored breaths: 

“It’s you.” 

  
  



End file.
